


Earp Fiction Addiction Podcast - Season 2

by DarkWiccan, Delayne, Laragh



Series: The Earp Fiction Addiction Podcast [3]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Audio Format: MP3, Audio Format: Streaming, Episode Transcript Included, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Podcast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2019-08-09 14:17:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 277,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16451555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkWiccan/pseuds/DarkWiccan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delayne/pseuds/Delayne, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laragh/pseuds/Laragh
Summary: We're back with another season of great fic to discuss and share!We'll discuss popular titles. Provide reviews and recommendations. And even interview authors. It's going to be #amazeballsThe Earp Fiction Addiction podcast. Discussing (almost) all things Wynonna Earp Fanfiction related.





	1. Zombieland

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](https://t.co/w4XJZk2wod)

 

Read the Fics!

[What Remains](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11742285) by Theseblankpages

[be right back.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15860295) by xavierdolls

[Together, We'll Survive](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13437063) by stingingscorpion

 

 

 

stingingscorpion's Desert Island Fic: [your heirs know not your tombs](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12340086) by breezered

 

Transcript by MrsBlueBacon

 

EFA Episode 201- Zombieland

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Hi everybody and welcome back to season two of the Earp Fiction Addiction. The podcast dedicated entirely to _Wynonna Earp_ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me, as always, and returning for more is my delightful co host...

 

DELAYNE : Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are so excited to be back for season two.

 

DELAYNE : Beyond excited. Oh my gosh. Uh, hi DARKWICCAN. It feels like it’s been forever. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It does. I almost forgot what your voice sounded like. I had to go back and relisten to some of the season one episodes to refresh my memory.

 

DELAYNE : Of all my giggling.

 

DARKWICCAN : Of all your giggling, yes. [laughter] But, uh, I think we’ve got a really exciting season ahead of us.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, wow. ‘Cause you have it, you have it well planned. We are...I think we definitely have our stuff together. We know what we’re doing now for sure, and I feel a lot more organized and prepared.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, we definitely...we know who we are, we know what we want, and we know for the most part how to do it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] For the most part. Doesn’t mean I always do the things i know how to do, but I do know what is needed to be done.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, fair. So a lot of stuff has happened since our season finale. I went to EHCon Canada and hosted a fanfiction writers panel which was pretty cool.

 

DELAYNE : That was awesome to watch. Wish I had been there in person.

 

DARKWICCAN : I do, too, friend. I do, too. Well, there are cons ahead of us that we will be participating in. Including, Earp CouchCon.

 

DELAYNE : Ehhh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Which is the convention taking place in November. I wanna say it’s the weekend of the seventeenth of November. It's really nifty ‘cause anyone can attend and it’s free because it happens online.

 

DELAYNE : The online EarperCon.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, it’s for all the comicants. Everybody is a comican for this one, which I think is pretty awesome.

 

DELAYNE : Right?!

 

DARKWICCAN : So we’re very excited to be doing that. We’re gonna have a videoed episode of the show for that. So, that’s gonna be pretty wild. People will be able to see our lovely faces and hopefully we don’t break too many computer screens.

 

DELAYNE : You’ll see all of the giggling I do, right. This is gonna be…[laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, right. I mean, ya know, we’ll…

 

DELAYNE : I’ll try to be more prepared.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Uh, and what else has happened? Oh, we hit one thousand Twitter followers, today.

 

DELAYNE : Today.

 

DARKWICCAN : To-day. I mean, how auspicious is that, that we hit one thousand followers on our Twitter feed the day we start recording season two. Uh, first episode of season two. I mean that’s pretty frickin’ cool.

 

DELAYNE : Right? Amazing.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I’m trying to think. Is there any other stuff that we’ve done recently? Between our season finale and now? Have we just been working and prepping. Like what have you been up to these past couple months?

 

DELAYNE : Oh, yeah, work. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Boring, boring work.

 

DELAYNE : Adulting isn’t fun anymore.

 

DARKWICCAN : I know, it’s not right? That’s why we have this podcast though, so maybe we should get down to business, what do you say.

 

DELAYNE : I agree wholeheartedly because this podcast makes life better.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely. I completely and totally agree. It’s one of the things...fans of _Wynonna Earp_ talk about this all the time. About how this show has changed our lives. Well, this is not hyperbole. It has truly changed our lives.

 

DELAYNE : Truth. Definitely.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, well, today. Or I should not say today because everyone knows that we record weeks in advance, but the date that this airs is October twenty-ninth. So, we all know what’s happening in a couple days.

 

DELAYNE : Halloween!

 

DARKWICCAN : Halloween! [eerie sound] or something. That sounded more like a ghost getting tickled, I think.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That didn’t sound very spooky. What’s it that IT star says, “spoopy”? I think that sounded more spoopy.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But anyway, Halloween is happening in a couple days so we thought we would do a sort of kind of Halloween themed season opener. So, this episode, all of the fics that we are discussing today have to do with the undead topic we all love: zombies.

 

DELAYNE : “The undead topic we all love.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I don’t know. I suppose the undead topic we all love could also be Doc, but…

 

DELAYNE : Ooooh.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Too soon? Was that too soon?

 

DELAYNE : I think it was just right. We’ll see.

 

DARKWICCAN : Just right.

 

DELAYNE : We’ll know when this airs.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, we’ll find out. You’ll let us know all one thousand Twitter followers how you felt about that joke. Ok, so. Let’s dive in.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah. Yeah, we should.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, we have three fics to talk about today and of course, as I mentioned, the common theme is zombies, or zombie-ism and so the first fic that we’re gonna talk about today is a work called “What Remains” by Theseblankpages. This is an unfinished fic, it was heavily inspired by elements of _The Walking Dead_ , and I’m gonna be honest. Of the three fics we have, it has the most kind of simplistic writing, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Theseblankpages does a very good job giving us clear, vivid imagery of the scenes that they’re setting, and they tell a story well. Would they benefit from having a beta come through and do a little grammarly clean-up? Sure. But really, what captured me about this...

 

DELAYNE : Who wouldn’t? I mean, honestly. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, true. I mean we get on the beta train all the time.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah. [choo choo train sound]

 

DARKWICCAN : Carry over from season one. That’s just gonna be the case in season two, as well.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Sorry, didn’t mean to derail you there.

 

DARKWICCAN : No problem. The train will continue on from the station, but this is a good story, and it’s really fun to see, especially Waverly and Wynonna and they do a really good job writing sisterly banter between the two of them and really showing the strength of their bond with each other. Now, of course, this is a _Wynonna Earp_ fanfiction, so that means that WayHaught is gonna be involved, and that’s no different here. We first meet Nicole in the very first chapter and we learn a little bit about her and that she’s been a little bit of a loner on her own for awhile in this post-apocalyptic world. When she is stumbled across by Waverly and Wynonna when they are out on a run, and where this story is similar to _The Walking Dead,_  if you’re familiar with the comic book series or the television series, I wanna say season five of _The Walking Dead_ where they end up in the little kind of village.

 

DELAYNE : Umm...

 

DARKWICCAN : That had been walled in?

 

DELAYNE : So here is the point where I say “I don’t consume a lot of other zombie related things”, so I have no idea.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Ok, well, anyone who watches _The Walking Dead_ knows what I’m talking about. I think it’s season five. I kinda stopped watching once they killed Flynn, so I don’t really know what happened after that point, but in the final season leading up to that moment on the show. They’re in this sort of haven that has a name and I can’t remember the name of it. It’s essentially a gated community that they really reinforced the gates and raised the walls up and kind of became a self-sufficient community. So that’s essentially the idea here, that Theseblankpages is working with, where Purgatory is that community with the giant walls and a semi-functional, but more functioning than not-functioning community inside, that whether she likes it or not is being led by Wynonna.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That definitely was an interesting choice in leadership, but...

 

DARKWICCAN : Is it? Is it though? It’s one of those things where Wynonna’s always kind of been a reluctant leader.

 

DELAYNE : Right, I...so, I’m not saying it’s a bad choice, it’s an interesting choice. There’s multiple ways this could have gone. I definitely like that Wynonna is the reluctant leader because it’s funny, but it’s an interesting choice in that there really were so many choices that could have been made in this sort of instance ‘cause I might not consume a lot of zombie things, I know _Resident Evil_ and that’s pretty much it, but the post-apocalyptic little safe haven community is a common theme.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it’s a trope. I just think it’s always interesting to see how creators are going to use that trope.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And in this instance, and as I mentioned before, this story is unfinished, we’re only six chapters in at this point. So, we don’t really know what is going to happen next from where we currently are, but, I mean, the thing that Theseblankpages does make very clear is that this community is a strong and functional community, even with idiots involved like Champ Hardy. And yes, Champ Hardy is there.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And he is the Champiest Champ that ever did Champ.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That was well said.

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you. And I don’t know that we need to spare him any more breath, unless there’s something you want to say.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, no. Fuckin’ Champ, man.

 

DARKWICCAN : Here’s one thing I will say for Champ. He is a lot of fun for writers to utilize.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : He’s such a tool, and he is a tool, so...

 

DELAYNE : He’s the tooliest [ph] tool. Like he’s the champiest Champ.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, it’s fun. You can’t see it, but I’m doing air quotes. It’s “fun” to watch authors take him and put him into situations where it just showcases his absolutely Champy-ness. It’s just kind of satisfying when he gets himself into a really bad situation. You’re like “muahahaha yes Champ, suffer. Suffer at your own idiocy.”

 

DELAYNE : I’m trying to remember. Are these zombies quick or slow?

 

DARKWICCAN : I think they were mostly staggerers. I don’t recall there being runners or anything like that, like in other zombie media. I think this is pretty much based more on _The Walking Dead_ , or I should say inspired by _The Walking Dead_ and so you do have your staggerers, you have your zombies that are a little less decayed that are gonna move a little quicker than zombies that are more decayed, but you don’t have any full out sprinting zombies. You don’t have any marathon running zombies. Or I should say...

 

DELAYNE : Right, in [Run] _Zombies, Run_. I think that’s the only zombie thing and I didn’t get very far on that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, that’s makes me wanna get back into it. I need to get back into that. So, anyway, like I said it’s a great work, it is a simple, quick read. It’s a little less than twenty thousand words at this point, six chapters in. Give it a gander, it’s a lot of fun. I’m enjoying it. Delayne, what do you think?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, and it looks like. I’m looking at the chapters, and there was a significant break, but it looks like they picked it back up recently, so hopefully that momentum will be maintained.

 

DARKWICCAN : I hope so, fingers crossed. Fingers crossed. So that’s “What Remains” by Theseblankpages. Delayne, what’s our next story?

 

DELAYNE : Up next, is “be right back” by xavierdolls.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah. This is an interesting one.

 

DELAYNE : This is very interesting, and, boy I really like the concept of the zombies in this one. If you hadn’t pointed it out to me that it is also inspired by another tv show, _In the Flesh_ , which what did you say?

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s a British show, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : So, the dead are...the zombies in this aren’t quick, but they’re also not super infectious.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, and we’re sort of past the main apocalypse at this point.

 

DELAYNE : Right, it wasn’t super quick, everything goes to hell in a handbasket and everyone’s got themselves holed up in their little haven villages. No, they’re still kind of running town as normal and Nicole is a cop there in Purgatory, right?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. The story does take place in Purgatory and essentially, the premise of the piece, if you’re not familiar with the BBC3 show _In the Flesh_ , the premise is that this is actually after the zombie apocalypse has more or less concluded and society as been able to maintain its structure in general and individuals who were infected by the virus, they kind of have two outcomes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And one is better than the other. But the essential premise is that there is a medical treatment for zombie-ism I guess, where individuals infected have to take daily injections and pills to essentially keep their brain functioning as a normal, alive human brain. Which, of course, would suppress the need to eat people.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But the thing is they have to stay on this very, very strict regimen of injections and pills. And if they miss an injection or they miss a dose, the fact is that they might relapse. If you can call it a relapse.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Right?

 

DARKWICCAN : Or return to their zombie state and become a serious threat. So it’s kind of like living in a house with a tripwire bomb, ya know.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] And so it’s very, very dangerous and disconcerting and nerve wracking for everyone involved.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, and the way this opens up to that intense scene of there’s something after Nicole, she’s there by herself, they’re making noise on her radio, and you don’t want noise ‘cause that attracts them, but yeah that first chapter, that grabbed me like “yeah, we are in a zombie apocalypse” and then we get to chapter two like, “wait a minute”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, so I have to say, this version of the story that is posted. I want to say it’s the third version that xavierdolls has posted. Initially, I think they got as far as seven chapters, and then they took it down, I might be overestimating the chapter count, but I know that I was definitely invested and reading. Every time a new chapter posted, I was there. I wanted to read what happened next, and then they took it down and I was very sad. And then it came back, and I got excited, and they posted like one chapter, and then it went down again. And they’ve just reposted it again, for the third. Again, I might be wrong, but I really feel like this is their third comeback here. But they’ve been taking a film writing course so they were influenced by this writing course to go in and make the opening a lot more cinematic and visual and I gotta say, they really succeeded.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Right?

 

DARKWICCAN : It definitely gets your heart going. And I was so confused, I was SO confused because the chapter that is there now as chapter one was not chapter one before, it wasn’t even a chapter. It was more flashbacks that happened within other chapters later on in their original posting. So...

 

DELAYNE : So you got to see the evolution of this story. That makes me...I feel like s slacker when I don’t get to stuff right away. And this is the wonderful things that I miss, especially if they make big, big changes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. Now, one thing I will say, is because they’ve taken it down and put it back up and taken it down and put it back up, and rewritten a lot of stuff, there are some, again, beta’s are great, there are some grammatical, punctuation and spelling issues that pop up that are a result of an author who is very excited to get this new idea onto the page. And just excited to get it out there and there’s some little errors here and there. I only bring this up because I know myself as a reader, if I’m reading along and suddenly I run into an error that’s clearly an accident. It’s almost like you’re walking along a road and then randomly you trip over a crack in the road and it takes you a second to recover and sometimes you look back at the crack and you scold it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And then you focus forward again. I just want people to know in advance that as they’re going in, because the writing is solid. Oh my gosh. As Delayne said, it just captures ya, you get sucked right in.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And something that we’ve been speaking around, is who the zombie is in this scenario.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But I don’t know if we should give it away.

 

DELAYNE : I...well, actually, it’s here in the summary.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so it is in the summary. Alright, ok. So, yes, you may read the summary.

 

DELAYNE : The dead come back and Wynonna is one of them.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I kinda wish that they hadn’t put that in the summary because I think. No, no, because let me tell you something...

 

DELAYNE : Right, because the cliffhanger on chapter one is so great, right?

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. Exactly. So hey, if you’re listening, xavier, take that part out and umm, everyone listening forget about it because...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] because when I first read it for the first time, that wasn’t in the description. And as you know, I don’t read notes anyway so that wasn’t in the description so I had no idea and again, the original first chapter isn’t the current first chapter and so it really was like a...when the reveal was done in the original first chapter it was very much a “Oh my god! WHAT?” So that was a nice fun discovery. But I do really like, and tell me if you agree, I do really like how Waverly and Nicole are a married couple and how we get this idea that years have passed since the last time they had seen Wynonna.

 

DELAYNE : Right. It took me a moment to sort of situate it where it would sort of lie in canon. And when Nicole first takes care of that zombie. And, see, I had read the summary, so I had a suspicion of who the zombie might be. I was a little bit confused as to why Nicole didn’t recognize her, but we get to that at least.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, we get to that.

 

DELAYNE : So, your point of maybe taking that out of the summary would have helped. Because I would have been “Ooh, who is it…” ya know. Confused me a little less, but then through the second chapter and the back story starts to come out that they have, they are married, they have been together.

 

DARKWICCAN : They’ve done renovations on the homestead.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Right?! Major renovations. It looks like a model home, or something in a magazine.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and at the time. Ya know, gosh it’s so difficult because I don’t wanna reveal too much, especially because they’ve just started reposting the story, they’re at three out of ten chapters. I have a feeling that they’re basically finished and they’re just going back and doing tweaks now. But, ya know, I don’t wanna...the story is so young and it’s one of those things where I know more because I was lucky enough to read the earlier version, so I’m having to like mentally edit myself while I’m speaking because I’m like “oh wait, I can’t…”

 

DELAYNE : “That hasn’t been mentioned yet, oh crap.” And I’m sitting here completely, happily oblivious.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Well, why don’t we keep you and our listeners oblivious and move onto our next story. But, before we do that, again, “be right back” by xavierdolls. This is definitely one that you’re gonna want to check out and keep an eye on and I’m hoping that by the time this episode is airing, we’ve got a couple more chapters posted for people to enjoy.

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. So, we’re up to our third and final fic for today. The only completed fic of our selections.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : That we are aware of at the time we are recording. And this one is called “Together, We’ll Survive” by stingingscorpion, and you guys, it’s so good. Now, I am not a fan of the whole cordyceps zombie thing. This is something that has become popular recently, with newer zombie storytelling. Where you have the whole idea carried over from nature of the cordyceps spores in nature that attack insects and burrough into their brains and basically make them zombies and make them go and infect their hives and what have you. And I think _World War Z_ the movie was based on this concept, which I feel so bad for Max Brooks, because he was absolutely furious about the way his story had been manipulated and change from the book, which is far superior, but that’s another story for another day. The point is, I don’t like cordyceps zombies. I don’t. I don’t like the idea of a sprinting zombie. I don’t like the idea of...I mean, I don’t mind the idea of mushroom zombies, like zombies with mushrooms growing on them, that’s fine. But I don’t like the idea of this whole infectious spore deelybob [ph] it being the thing that spreads the virus or whatever, but that’s just me. Now, I say all that to say this.

 

DELAYNE : See, yeah. You say virus though, but that’s different.

 

DARKWICCAN : I know, but you know what I’m saying, like it’s either a fungal infection or a viral infection.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So in this case it’s a fungal infection. Ok, fine. Ok, fine.  Ok, fine. Ok, fine. Ok, fine. Ok, fine. Ok, fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. Cool. Cool. Cool. Whatever. I say all that to say this...that is the type of zombies in this story, and this story is so good, I don’t care.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Said in my best valley girl sound, “I don’t care.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ok, so I don’t know...this is the first that I’ve really encountered this kind of zombie, ‘cause like I said, I don’t really consume zombie related things, but I do know in the notes, which I know you don’t read. It’s based on a video game. It’s inspired by _The Last of Us_.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

DELAYNE : So, if you’re thinking about it in terms of a video game, if all you’re fighting is the same [zombie noise] kind of zombie over and over again, not fun. So, this setup allows for different types of zombies, therefore different things to fight, which makes the fighting action scenes in the video game more fun. So, there’s that side of it. Thought I’d put that out there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, no, that’s fair. That’s absolutely fair. I would argue to that point that there...even if you’re only dealing with slow zombies, there are many different types of encounters with zombies in different scenarios, even if they are all slow, staggering zombies, that could up the ante considerably. Where they don’t necessarily need to have different abilities. That being said...

 

DELAYNE : Right, if you’re really good at writing and doing that sort of thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right. That being said, I know _The Last of Us_ is really popular, I know they basically made, or a character canonically queer now, so that’s awesome, that’s fantastic, yay, go them, that’s great. But like I said, I don’t care what kind of zombies are in this story because this story is not about the zombies. As any good zombie story is, it’s not about the zombies.

 

DELAYNE : Correct.

 

DARKWICCAN : This story is about the people surviving. And one kind of carry over from other zombie/apocalypse media is that not only are the dead dangerous, the living are just as if not more so as dangerous because they have their full faculties and are able to make immoral choices for the sake of surviving.

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, that’s what we have here, and I love, LOVE, the story structure and it may be that the story structure is based off the story structure of the video game, I don’t care.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I love the story structure. Because to me, it reminds me of comic book structure.

 

DELAYNE : Ok, I can see that.

 

DARKWICCAN : You know what I’m saying?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Yeah, ok. Where you have a series of stories that are part of a larger arc, but they’re broken up into three or four books. Right, so, you know the first one is a four parter searching for Wynonna Earp, and then we’ve got a two parter, and then we’ve got another four parter, and then we have a two parter, and then a one shot.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] And then a three parter just for an uneven number.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. I am just. I love it. I love the way this is set up. It also makes reading this story, which is, again, complete at twenty-seven chapters and over a hundred seventy thousand words. It makes the story move more quickly.

 

DELAYNE : Right?!

 

DARKWICCAN : ‘Cause you’re not bogged down. There’s this one arc, large arc, that goes over the entire story, but it doesn’t bog down the storytelling. Because in each of these sort of, I’m just gonna call them books. In each of these books, you have another arc that takes the focus of that book before it moves on to the next book. And, so, again, masterful story structure here. Excellent storytelling. stingingscorpion writes action sequences so well.

 

DELAYNE : And that’s not easy to do. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : No, we’ve talked about this before. Someone who can write a good action sequences is extremely talented, because action is hard. You have to remember where everyone is, what everyone is doing, ya know you have to think about physics, you have to think about stamina, you have to think about all sorts of things. Ya know, is this person strong enough to be able to throw a punch that would break a nose, is this, no, I’m serious.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] No, you’re right. ‘Cause speaking of stamina, how often do people come running up out of nowhere and they’re having a normal conversation the next moment. And in this, like when Nicole’s like “give me a moment, I’m trying to breathe here”, ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah exactly. There’s one sequence where Nicole is rescuing Waverly and she’s having to carry her for some distance. And I’m not gonna give the circumstances, but she’s having to carry her for some distance and she’s running with her in her arms, and she’s running for quite awhile and you get to feel her fatigue. You feel how exhausted she is. She’s also dealing with her own injury, ya know. There’s a point where the adrenaline runs out, but you have to keep going because you don’t know what is on your tail.

 

DELAYNE : You don’t have a choice.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly because if it’s not a situation of getting away from something, it’s a situation of getting to something else a lot of times. That could be safety, your team, or a weapon, or fill in the blank.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But, yeah, I mean, man, that sequence stuck with me. ‘Cause Nicole was just exhausted and then she had to go and continue to care for Waverly even though she was injured and exhausted and her body was like “uh huh”. She still had to care for Waverly who was in far worse condition. Wanna find out what happens folks? Read the story.

 

DELAYNE : So, ya know how last season we did that thing where we interview authors?

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh yeah, that thing. That thing. That old chestnut.

 

DELAYNE : Can we do that again?

 

DARKWICCAN : Really? You wanna do that?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : We don’t have to, but if you feel strongly about it, we can absolutely do that.

 

DELAYNE : I feel very strongly about it.

 

DARKWICCAN : You do? Ok, well, ya know what I’ll follow your gut instinct on this one Delayne and I’ll say yes. Let us. Let us continue the tradition of interviewing authors of our favorite stories.

 

DELAYNE : Fantastic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Great. Who are we talking to?

 

DELAYNE : We...so, we’ll be talking to stingingscorpion about “Together, We’ll Survive”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome. Hey, Delayne, that sounds great, but there’s another tradition that we need to carry on.

 

DELAYNE : And what tradition is that DW?

 

[CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

 

MUSIC : The Undead Lounge by Sideshow Sound Theatre

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody, and welcome back to this extra spooky episode of the _Earp Fiction Addiction_ , the podcast dedicated entirely to _Wynonna Earp_ fanfiction. I am your host DarkWiccan, and with me, as always, is the delightful and scary…

 

DELAYNE : Ha, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : You should have gone “muahahaha it’s Delayne”, but that’s ok.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I am NOT very scary.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I really am not.

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re not. You’re really not. You’re like an adorable little spook. But as we mentioned prior to the break, we today are talking about zombie fics, and, or, fics of the undead. And um, we are going to be chatting today with the author of the last story that we talked about before we went into our sponsorship spot. And that story is “Together, We’ll Survive” by stingingscorpion, who today we’re gonna call RJ. RJ, welcome to the show.

 

RJ : Thanks for having me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, thanks for coming on. We mentioned in the first half of the show this is sort of our Halloween special because it’s two things at once. It’s the first show of the season and it’s two or three days before Halloween, so we thought this was a good time to kinda get a little spooktacular.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Let’s talk about some zombies.

 

RJ : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

RJ : Sounds like a good time.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, do you have plans for this Halloween.

 

RJ : I do not, actually. Actually, yes I do, I’m going to Disney. That’s right.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, hey, right on. Nice.

 

DELAYNE : That’s kind of a big plan.

 

DARKWICCAN : That is a very big plan.

 

RJ : I can’t believe I forgot about that.

 

DARKWICCAN : How can you forget about Disney at Halloween?

 

RJ : No idea.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh man, so are you gonna check out the Haunted Mansion redecoration for _Nightmare Before Christmas_?

 

RJ : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Are you a _Nightmare Before Christmas_ fan?

 

RJ : No, but my sister’s boyfriend is like obsessed, so I’m gonna get an earful. I don’t think he knows that I haven’t seen it yet, so he’s gonna be devastated.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Oh, you haven’t seen it yet?

 

RJ : No. That’s my bad.

 

DARKWICCAN : Wow! I think you’re the only person...

 

RJ : Me too.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think children in utero have seen that movie. Ok, but still, that sounds like a fantastic Halloween. And speaking of spooky things, this story you’ve written is quite spooky, and I’m just kind of curious, um, how did you get into, well, _Wynonna Earp_ itself is basically a supernatural thriller, so is that what attracted you to writing, was it _Wynonna Earp_ , and if so, how did you get into that? How did you get into this whole writing thing? Not necessarily writing the story, but what got you into writing in the first place.

 

RJ : Whoo. Umm. I started watching _Wynonna Earp_ because I’d heard about it across Tumblr and I was like “Oh, that sounds very interesting” so I finally caught up in time to watch 2x09 onwards. So, I thought the show was very different, I was fairly invested and there’s this gaming event that happens usually in October or November and it’s called Paris Games Week, and the last time I was there, last year, and they came out with a new trailer and it just kind of came to me, “What if I was to do some kind of crossover?” ‘cause I needed to write, I’d been out of writing for a little bit, so just thought I’d see how that would work out.

 

DELAYNE : So, have you written fanfic before? Or...

 

RJ : Mostly original content.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

RJ : It was nice to leave that for a little bit, though.

 

DARKWICCAN : Have you submitted this original content online, or for publishing, or is it just something that you were doing for fun, or…”

 

RJ : I hope it gets published one day.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’d be cool. That’d be very cool. [laughter] Can I ask, was it like, what sort of genre were you writing for when you were writing original stuff?

 

RJ : It’s all sci-fi, I’m just a nerd.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice. Hey, we’re all nerds here man. Embrace it.

 

DELAYNE : So, you mentioned seeing _The Last of Us_ at, you said it was a gaming convention right? When they released the second trailer?

 

RJ : Yeah, like a convention, yep, or a conference.

 

DELAYNE : Conference sounds much more official than a convention. [laughter]

 

RJ : I could not think of the word. I was like “It’s that letter I don’t remember.”

 

DELAYNE : “It starts with con”.

 

RJ : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause I was wondering if you were playing the game and got the inspiration or if you were watching the show and got the inspiration. It sounds like your story is a little different than that, so, I guess, do you want to elaborate more on that first inspiration of combining the two.

 

RJ : I mostly just wanted to see Wynonna Earp against zombies.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s fair.

 

RJ : Like what kind of sarcastic things would she say?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, your Wynonna is absolutely, very...your Wynonna _is_ Wynonna. You’ve definitely captured her voice really, really fantastically. She’s got a lot of really terrific one-liners, and her snark is on point.

 

RJ : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Would you say that zombie flicks [ph], are you drawn to the zombie genre at all? Or was it just so happen that this game kind of caught you the right way and you went “huh, I really wanna mash this up and see how it would look”?

 

RJ : Yeah. I don’t really have a problem with zombie flicks [ph], but after awhile it’s like “ok, I get it”, but _The Last of Us_ that was just, “this game is kinda special. Let’s see how this goes.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, ya know, it felt at times like the characters were fighting through increasingly difficult levels and sort of bosses so was the structure of the story purposefully similar to that of _The Last of Us_ as far as a videogame that you’re playing?

 

RJ : Not on purpose. I actually hadn’t thought about that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Something we were talking about before the break was that, for me anyway, this really read almost like a comic book series. Where you have a whole run of books that are broken up into individual story arcs.

 

RJ : Uh-huh.

 

DARKWICCAN : But you have one large arc that goes, that runs, like threads from the beginning to end. In this case, the thread was getting to Sanctuary. But they have all these little adventures along the way. To me, it read a lot like a comic book series where you have the four books where they’re trying to tackle this plot and then that plot’s resolved and it moves on to the next and there’s a one shot thrown in the middle sometimes and then there’s a two-fer [ph], so was that intentional or did it just kind of shake out that way?

 

RJ : It was intentional. It is really similar to the game though. Like they just kind of run into a bunch of different people on their way to where they’re going.

 

DELAYNE : So was it kind of like side quests, ya know, or you have to complete the side quests with these people you’ve just encountered to get the thing you need to continue. I haven’t played the game, so I’m not sure.

 

RJ : Yeah. I’d say so, yeah. They don’t really give you a choice. They’re like “you have to kill these guys to get out” and you’re like “oh I don’t have any ammo”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

RJ : “I just used it on the last room. Great!”

 

DELAYNE : Alright, note to self: if I play the game, ammo is hard to find. [laughter]

 

RJ : Do not use any ammo.

 

DELAYNE : So, your chapter titles are fun. And the ones that are split into multi-parts. I was picturing you were writing and it got super long, and you’re like “ok, I’m just gonna break this into parts” or did you sort of plan it to be multiple parts?

 

RJ : Sort of? I was editing something else at the time, so I was like “I don’t want this to have long chapters ‘cause I’m gonna have to edit this too” and then I just kinda, like the further along the story went, I was like “no, I need the longer chapters”. At first it started like “no, I want short chapters” and then it was like “screw it. Let’s go for it”. And I’m pretty sure Nicole’s town chapter was like eighteen thousand words.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : mmhmm yeah

 

RJ : I was like “oh God”.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think that was the longest chapter of all of them.

 

RJ : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, one thing that is paramount and central to any good zombie story are, of course, action sequences trying to fend off zombies or, often, other humans who are actually a lot more dangerous than the undead. Your action sequences are really, really well written. Very vivid. Quick paced. You know where everyone is. You know what’s happening. There's a good build up of tension and there are moments where we wonder “will our heroes make it?” So, a good action sequence is really, really hard to write and you have got tons of terrific sequences, just one after the other in this story. How difficult was it constructing all of these many different action sequences and making them all unique to each other?

 

RJ : Oh, well, thank you. Umm, [sigh] the gun fights were ridiculously hard ‘cause gunfights can get so, like boring so fast, ‘cause you’re like “ok, you guys have guns. Cool. What else?” So, I really turned to the game for different like “Jeremy has a bomb, Wynonna has a molotov. Let’s add that in and spice it up a little bit. Let’s add in some fist fights.” So, I think like choreographing and like just writing out what I wanted to happen was fine, and then you actually get to writing it, and you’re like “ok, let’s see if we can figure this out.” Sometimes it turned out great the first time, sometimes I had to rewrite it like four times. Like, I think, there’s that Pearly sister section, and at the end of it there’s this giant shootout and I had like different plans for that. I don’t even think that scene was supposed to happen and it just did.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

  


RJ : I was looking at it and I was like “shit. This is awesome. Let’s keep that. Hopefully I can do this again.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

RJ : So, really, it’s all just luck.

 

DELAYNE : All luck? There’s gotta be some skill in there, I’m just sayin’.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

RJ : I don’t know.

 

DELAYNE :

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean there must be ‘cause you’ve gotta keep track of where everybody is, what everybody’s doing, you have to think about physics, you have to think about cause and effect, you have to think about all sorts of stuff that you’re juggling together to make a believable and impactful and intense action sequence and I think, personally, I’ve got a couple favorite sequences. My main favorite is the one pretty early on where Waverly accidentally trips a trap and gets zipped up into the air by her ankles. And then everyone’s trying to defend her while getting her down while under fire.

 

RJ : Aww.

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, it’s just...I think there are zombies there as well, there’s a lot going on. And despite this sort of chaos, I was still able to follow, very clearly, what was happening the whole time, and the tension and the build up was still very, very palpable. And then my other favorite one is the fight with the Tatenhills [ph].

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

RJ : Oh, I love that one.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that was a great sequence.

 

RJ : LOVE that one.

 

DARKWICCAN : That was such a great…’cause it literally spanned across the entire property.

 

RJ : They just wouldn’t die.

 

DARKWICCAN : They started on one side of the property and ended on the other side of the property down by the little river, crick [ph] thing. You had the added element of the snow and the risk of hypothermia and all this other stuff going in. That was just...gosh, you’re really terrific at writing action sequences.

 

RJ : [laughter] Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : I just wanna give you a little badge.

 

DELAYNE : Are we gonna actually start giving out ribbons now? Is that… [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I don’t know… [laughter]

 

RJ : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [unintelligible]

 

DARKWICCAN : We’ll just do the verbal kudos. KUDOS! Good job.

 

RJ : I remember that fighting sequence. I thought it would be...like that second one where Nicole like finally kills them and then she’s like “oh my god”. I just remember she like...I’m pretty sure I had her like throw a snowball at Hetty.

 

DARKWICCAN : You did. You did and it was so brilliant. It was like...

 

RJ : And then Hetty tried it and she couldn’t make it so Nicole was just like “ok then”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Yes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ‘Cause it was just...it was hilarious but also still terrifying. It was...

 

DELAYNE : That definitely makes scary situations easier to deal with, is when there’s humor thrown in there. ‘Cause I don’t like scary things very well.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, lots of lots of action, but also lots and lots of everyone. Like everyone shows up in this fic. So, which...

 

RJ : Yep.

 

DELAYNE : Which of the side characters or groups, or scene, was the most difficult for you to incorporate into this fic?

 

RJ : Honestly, it wasn’t that difficult. I’m [laughter], I like to write with like multiple characters ‘cause I do believe stories should be character driven, so you deserve to see “how is so-in-so going to react to this, who’s our logical person?”

 

DELAYNE : So, if incorporating them wasn’t difficult, then which one was your favorite one to incorporate?

 

RJ : Nicole. [laughter] Nicole. Nicole and Wynonna, always.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, you definitely had a lot of fun with Nicole.

 

RJ : I did.

 

DARKWICCAN : You put that poor girl through the ringer, emotionally and mentally. You really did. I mean, first of all, you’ve got...

 

RJ : Oh, it’s fun.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...the ghost of Shae haunting her psyche. So, and then you’ve got a hell of a sad backstory, so, and rough difficult family members to deal with, so what inspired you? I’m most curious about Shae because that was such a psychological element. What inspired you to have Shae haunting Nicole?

 

RJ : I just wanted it to show like the subtle change like how Nicole starts off like “oh, boo me. I lost everything in my life”, like everybody else hasn’t, and just by the end it’s like “ok, I can say goodbye to you, I’ve found my people, I can accept that this has happened to me” and, I also think that Shae represents her self doubt. Especially when Waverly like first tried to ask her out and she was like “no, no”. And then ended up changing her mind and she’s like “well, these circumstances are exactly why we should be together ‘cause we could die at any minute, so why not?”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah [laughter] I mean, hey gotta strike while the iron is hot. Badum bum [ph] Hey-o. I crack myself up.

 

RJ : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : It’s important to laugh at yourself.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ahem ahem [ph]. Yes. Where did the idea for Victoria Haught come from? She is a piece a [sic] work.

 

RJ : She is. Honestly, I have no idea.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You don’t know?

 

RJ : No idea. Just like woo [ph]. I knew that I wanted her brother to be like a force of good, so I thought maybe let’s make her sister the opposite and see where that goes. ‘Cause Nicole’s just so like patient, so I was like “why don’t we just push that”.

 

DELAYNE : There’s always an evil one in a group of siblings.

 

RJ : Always.

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re the evil one, right Delayne?

 

DELAYNE : Yes, I am the youngest. I am the evil one in my family. Ask my brothers.

 

DARKWICCAN : Now, in the case of the Haught children, Nicole was the baby, right?

 

RJ : Yeah, ironically.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah [laughter] Who was your favorite original character to play with?

 

RJ : Ooh, I think Victoria. It’s nice to play, to write like an asshole character.

 

DARKWICCAN : Did you funnel your darkest thoughts into her?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

RJ : [laughter] Maybe.

 

DARKWICCAN : Can I ask, do you have siblings?

 

RJ : Yes. Just one.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, just one. Are you the good one or the bad one? [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

RJ : [laughter] I am the bad one.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Aww, you fess [sic] up to it, huh?

 

RJ : I fess up. I own it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Did you...this is something that Delayne understands and I don’t ‘cause I am an only child, so I can only kind of imagine what it’s like to have siblings, but did you like bring any of the interplay of, and not necessarily like actual things that happened to you and your sibling, but any time that you wrote Victoria and Nicole interacting, was there an element of something that you were drawing from your own experience with your...I keep saying sibling ‘cause I don’t know if you have a brother or a sister.

 

RJ : A sister. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : A sister, yea.

 

RJ : I didn’t though. My sister’s too nice to be an asshole. It’s annoying.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being the nice sister.

 

RJ : She teaches kids how to read. How do you make fun of that? I hate it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So you didn’t get into any sort of spats with her when you guys were kids growing up?

 

RJ : We did, but I started all of them.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Wow, you ARE Victoria. So, we know that Victoria is your favorite original character to write. Of the television show characters that you brought in that acted in more of an antagonistic way, which of them was your favorite to bring out to play?

 

RJ : Ooh. I want, well, everyone says Bobo, but I want to say the Jack of Knives, just because he’s so scary.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

RJ : He’s like terrifying, and I’m a sadist, so of course I had fun with that chapter.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Did you scare yourself writing that sequence?

 

RJ : Oh my god. Funny story, so it was like...sometimes I write at very questionable hours of the night. Just, yeah. And I was listening to this, oh god. It was a horror game, but I was listening to the soundtrack as I had him like chasing Wynonna, and it was really affecting me, and then my frickin’ dog pops out of nowhere and scares the living hell out of me at like two in the morning, so I had to like walk away for a little bit.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

RJ : I was like, “alright thanks dog.”

 

DELAYNE : I can’t even, like just the idea. Oh my god. There’s a reason I write fluff, ok.

 

RJ : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, right now you’re working on another piece, Assassin’s Creed: Purgatory, which is another story that is being based off a video game. Would you say that video games are hugely inspiring for you as a writer?

 

RJ : Yes. Yes, I get some of my best ideas from video games.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, any other potentials on the sketch board that you might be considering for the _Wynonna Earp_ universe down the line?

 

RJ : I had, there’s this really old game called _Sly Cooper_ and basically they’re just thieves, so I was like “ok, Wynonna Earp as a thief, come on”. That one I’m definitely doing.

 

DARKWICCAN : That would be a lot of fun.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I did think of my idea and it goes back to having Shae haunt Nicole, and you said that was her self doubt and now that we’ve seen season three where Wynonna has Mama talking to her, as her doubt, like were you, was that a fun parallel to watch?

 

RJ : Yes. I saw that, I was like “oh my god, I did that.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] You’re like “the _Wynonna_ writers are in my brain”.

 

RJ : It’s a conspiracy.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Or, great minds think alike.

 

RJ : I like that better.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, great minds think alike, absolutely. Well, RJ, it has been so much fun chatting with you today. I love talking about zombies. I’m actually a huge fan of zombies in film genre and book genre, and I will talk about video games, I’m also a huge fan of gaming as well. So combining everything together and talking also about my other favorite topic, _Wynonna Earp_ , has been delightful.

 

RJ : [laughter] Well, same here.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome. And so, but now that you know we’re at the end, that you know what’s coming next right?

 

RJ : Oh yes. I am ready.

 

DELAYNE : Insert maniacal laughter. Here comes the muahahaha [ph].

 

DARKWICCAN : Well done Delayne. Ok, follow up that fantastic maniacal laugh with our final question.

 

DELAYNE : Alright, you are stranded on a spooky deserted island and have only one fanfic to read, what is it?

 

RJ : [sigh] What the hell was the name? “your heirs know not your tombs” by breezered. It was a _Wynonna Earp_ / _Uncharted_ AU and it was frickin’ awesome. And it’s unfinished. It was so great. Yeah, it ended at like a really like “oh shit” and now we’re never gonna know.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you’d be stranded on this desert island with an unfinished fic?

 

RJ : Frustration. It’s my motivation to get back.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You are hardcore, man.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh man, that is hilarious. That would be great motivation to get back. You’re like “I have to know what happens next”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

RJ : I have to finish this.

 

DELAYNE : And appropriate. Isn’t _Uncharted_ like, I don’t know. I clearly don’t play enough games.

 

RJ : He does get into a lot of trouble.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, that’s “your heirs know not your tombs” by breezered, or if we wanna be all Shakespearean about it, breezer-ed [sic].

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : We’ll provide a link to that unfinished fic in our show notes for this episode. In the meantime, thank you again, RJ, also known as stingingscorpion, for coming on the show and chatting with us today about your fic, “Together, We’ll Survive”, the amazing _The Last of Us_ / _Wynonna Earp_ mashup AU. Highly recommend everybody jump on that and read before Halloween. Only a couple days away, so thank you again RJ. I hope you have a fantastic time at DisneyLand listening to your sister’s boyfriend talk about a movie that you’ve never seen.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

RJ : Thank you for having me.

 

DARKWICCAN : And everybody else, Happy Halloween. muahahaha

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us. Tremendous thanks to stingingscorpion for joining us to talk about their fic 'Together, We'll Survive'. Thanks as always to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, The Music Box Souvenir Shop and The Undead Lounge by Sideshow Sound Theatre, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 


	2. Fawning Over Florae

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week on the podcast, DW and Delayne go tripping through the daisies as they explore the delightful series 'The One with the Officer and the Florist'. They sit down to chat with author TacosAreTasty33 to find out what inspired this flowery work.

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/fawning-over-florae)

 

Read the Series!

[The One with the Officer and the Florist](https://archiveofourown.org/series/961341) by TacosAreTasty33

 

 

 

TacosAreTasty33's Desert Island Fic: [Let Our Hearts Be the Only Sound](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15389487) by comelayinmybed and LuckyWantsToKnow

 

Episode Artwork by: [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by ACalamityOfJanes

 

EFA Episode 202: Fawning Over Florae

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the _Earp Fiction Addiction_ , a fan podcast all about _Wynonna Earp_ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the _Wynonna Earp_ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome back for another episode of Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to _Wynonna Earp_ fanfiction.  I am your host Dark Wiccan, and with me is the wonderful and florally bedecked…

DELAYNE : Hi, it’s Delayne!

DARKWICCAN : And we’re so excited to be back for our second episode of season two, it is November fifth today and we sure do “Remember remember the fifth of November”.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Not really.

DARKWICCAN: And I have already rendered Delayne speechless.

DELAYNE: You’ve already lost me.

DARKWICCAN: Great episode, thanks everybody, we’ll see you next week.

DELAYNE: [laughter] What am I missing?  Is it just that I’m tired?

DARKWICCAN: It might just be that you’re tired.  You’re not familiar with the fifth of November? The “Remember remember the fifth of November?”  The gunpowder...

DELAYNE: It sounds familiar

DARKWICCAN: It really more is a, um, thing for Britain, and the UK, it refers to Ge [ph] Fawkes, or Guy Fawkes, depending on how very French you are, [laughter from Delayne] attempted to blow up, I want to say….

DELAYNE: Parliament

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, but Guy Fawkes is not what brings us here today.  No, today we are gonna be talking about one of Delaney’s favorite topics…

DELAYNE: BOTANY!

DARKWICCAN: BOTANY!!  But before we get down to... botany… we have a bunch of new [CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM] you can support us here on the show itself by listening and telling your friends about it and encouraging folks to listen and to write fanfic because the more fanfic there is out there the more there is for us to talk about.

DELAYNE: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: Alright.  Let’s get down to it. Delayne, what brings us here today?

DELAYNE: We are here to talk about a series, “The One with the Officer and the Florist.”

DARKWICCAN: Ah yes, and can you tell me, what about this series attracted you to it?

DELAYNE: Yeah, well, it was the first part in the series, before even the other parts had been published and it had become a series, this first chapter caught my attention because although it’s asterisked in the title, of course because it’s rated T, it’s called “How do I say ‘F*ck You’ in flower?”

DARKWICCAN: And who is the author of this fantastic series?

DELAYNE: This was done by Tacosaretasty33.

DARKWICCAN: So that title just grabbed your attention, just leapt out from the screen and slapped you across the face.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Precisely, so I thought “ooh this is going to be a good one, let’s read about what exactly is the meaning behind flowers?”  So as a botanist I have been trained to _identify_ plants, I know their botanical, their scientific latin binomial nomenclature names, but I don’t always know what things mean or common names so it’s always fun to see.  Of course I don’t know what flowers mean “fuck you” [laughter] so I was definitely curious as to what this flower arrangement would entail so of course I had to click on it and read this fic and it, the prompt itself is just so hilarious.  And that is the thing about this series and that first chapter, its based on a Tumblr prompt that’s pretty much someone came along and said “hey someone write me a story with a person who goes into a flower shop, slaps down a twenty dollar bill and says ‘how do I say fuck you in flower?’ “.  And that’s, you know, that was the prompt and Tacosaretasty did a fantastic job with this prompt.

DARKWICCAN: Ok, so we know what the prompt is, what happens in the story?  Who is telling who to fuck off?

DELAYNE: As we know from the title of the series, it’s the one with the officer and the florist, so the officer being Nicole, she goes into, what is it… Shorty’s Flower Shop?  [laughter] So Nicole goes into Shorty’s Flower Shop and and explains, well after slamming down the twenty and demanding a “fuck you” flower, the shop girl, Waverly, the florist goes “uhhh, wait, why?” and Nicole does proceed to tell her why she does need a passive aggressive note to send to, it’s a fellow officer right?

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, her fellow officer, Stephanie Jones.

DELAYNE: Which, I gotta say that decision alone blows me out of the water, Stephanie is the fellow officer?

DARKWICCAN: Or she’s at least working at the police station, she might not, I’d have to go back and double check.  So essentially Stephanie has been saying some rather rude homophobic things in Nicole’s direction, and having had enough of it but being far too passive aggressive to get in her face about it she goes to the nearest floral shop, walks in and immediately demands a “fuck you” bouquet.

DELAYNE: [laughter] I think “fuck you bouquet” should become a regular thing.

DARKWICCAN: You know, that’s not a bad idea actually, like the anti-Valentines Day bouquet.

DELAYNE: I know that you can send people glitter bombs, or bags of dicks, like gummy penises.  So it takes Waverly a few moments of course but she uses that big wonderful brain of hers and goes “wait a minute, I’ve got an idea”, and she does and she proceeds to put the arrangement together with flowers that mean not nice things and says that she’ll have it ready for her, hands her the order form, and this is great, this is very smooth, this is very swaggery Nicole, she doesn’t fill out a part of the information so Waverly looks at it and goes “uh, you forgot your number”, and Nicole’s like “I just wanted to have you ask me for it”.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] Yes, very top of her game, swag Nicole there.  So that’s basically the end of the story, now the second piece picks up with the title “How do I say ‘Will you go on a date with me?’ in flower?”  And this I thought was pretty funny because you would think that with that initial meet-cute that the follow up would be pretty immediate but thanks to Wynonna, of course, Waverly’s ability to reach out to Nicole is hampered so there’s a bit of a delay, I think it being almost a two week delay, at least a week.

DELAYNE: [noises of agreement]

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, and so Nicole starts to think [discouraged mumbling] and of course Wynonna storms into the sheriff's office demanding a way to get rid of a ticket she was given and with Waverly on her heels going, you know trying to stop her from doing so and that’s the first time that the pair of them see each other again and she gets the opportunity to explain that her sisters kind of a natural disaster.

DELAYNE: Obviously [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: And takes all of her attention when she decides to pop into town.  Of course Nicole’s immediately like “oh, okay okay, I’m not butt-hurt anymore, it’s fine”, but this gives Nicole the opportunity to get the ball back in her court, to use a sports metaphor that we know that both Nicole and Kat would enjoy...

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: And basically take the lead again so she basically goes back to the flower shop and in a, sort of, very cute, very manufactured way asks for a “will you go out with me?” bouquet.

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So it was like “well I’m thinking of asking this girl out, I don’t know what kind of flowers she’d like and…”

DELAYNE: [laughter in the background]

DARKWICCAN: And so of course Waverly is like “oh, well, do you think she might like…” you know.  So it’s a very very kind of cute follow up there, so that’s how she ends up asking her out on a date and that she gets the inside scoop on what flowers she should use to ask this secret character out on a date and of course Nicole shows up later that day with a bouquet of said floral arrangement and asking Waverly out, so that was very very cute.  All of these pieces are short, some of them, as you get into the stories more they get a little longer because there’s more to say which is kind of typical of a series like this where the first few pieces are gonna be relatively short and to the point, there’s really not a whole lot to do but then as you build up the world more there’s more to say, as you build up the relationship more there’s more to say so the story gets longer.  But for the most part these first stories are just quick one-shots which are really really cute and very very sweet and all kinds of fluff.

DELAYNE: Oh yeah.  Part three, which is “How can I say ‘Can I kiss you?’ in flower?” is of course the date to the county fair.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.  So...

DELAYNE: It is tooth-rotting sweet when they try all the games and Nicole wins her a teddy bear?  Right?

DARKWICCAN: Uh huh.

DELAYNE: And they end the date at the ferris wheel of course, as the sun’s setting and they both admit that they’re afraid of heights!

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] I thought that was hilarious.  They both admit they’re scared of heights on the ferris wheel.

DELAYNE: And uh, so you know, they’re at this perfect moment, sunset, ferris wheel, you know, overlooking all the lights and Waverly is so sure Nicole is going to kiss her then… she doesn’t.

DARKWICCAN:  So just sort of a twist on Kat Barrell’s statement from Earpercon UK, I think the first Earpercon UK where she was like “they’d go on a date and they’d ride the ferris wheel and kiss at the top”, so this was sort of taking a cue from that in having them go to the carnival but then not having them kiss.

DELAYNE: Right, so, they’re at the perfect moment, Waverly is waiting for her kiss and Nicole starts telling a story about, what? Junior High or something?

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, just something completely left field.

DELAYNE: So she doesn’t get her kiss and I mean clearly the title of this is “How do you say ‘Can I kiss you’ in flower?” so the kiss was missed on the perfect date so now we’ve got to get to the kiss part so...

DARKWICCAN: Yes, so basically they get to the end of the date, no kiss, and for the following week, no kiss, nothing has happened, no forward momentum, and Waverly’s getting a little bit frustrated.  And she’s getting a bit impatient and she’s getting to the point where she can’t really be trusted around herself because if she gets Nicole alone there’s no telling what she’s gonna do. But she then realises that of course Nicole is being gallant and chivalrous and trying her very best not to overstep, just in case that sort of contact is not yet wanted so Waverly realises she’s got to make things plain and she decides to do so in the way that has been established in this story which is to provide a bouquet of flowers that defines the intent.  And so she leaves a series of different types of flowers that can mean kiss or kissing or embrace for Nicole over the course of the day and at the end of the day once Nicole has all of the flowers she explains. And that’s when Nicole goes “oh, clue, got it, okay!” and they have their first kiss and it’s of course perfect and lovely.

DELAYNE: And of course was asked for in flower.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.  Which brings us to the fourth story which is our first sort of deviation from fluff.

DELAYNE: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: Our first foray into angst, and it’s called “How do I say ‘Will you forgive me?’ in flower?”

DELAYNE: [gasp]

DARKWICCAN: And I have to say this one is the one where I kind of went “ummm, I don’t believe that would happen” [laughter] but before I get to that the reason why I don’t think the misunderstanding that occurs would happen, let’s talk about what gets us there.  So, Nicole’s parents in this story as imagined by Tacosaretasty33, and this story was written before season three had started airing and posted before season three started airing for the most part so really Tacosaretasty ,like many fic authors, had their own notion of what Nicole’s parents were like. And so the only thing we really had to go on at that point was the fact that we knew from season two that Nicole doesn’t talk to her parents.  So what Tacosaretasty did is they said “alright so Nicole doesn’t talk to her parents, what are the reasons why that she could not be talking to her parents?” Well there’s the obvious and rather worn out idea that they don’t accept her for being gay and it’s clear that that’s not the direction that Tacosaretasty wanted to go down.

DELAYNE: And we learn in season three that’s not the canon either.

DARKWICCAN: Right, right.

DELAYNE: Like everyone assumed.

DARKWICCAN: Right, but we don’t know that, no one knew this, basically we’re saying that Tacosaretasty had these options to select from and decided not to go with the obvious choice, and instead went with the notion of her parents don’t talk to her because she’s a cop, again, before season three.

DELAYNE: Blew my mind.

DARKWICCAN: So, I gotta imagine that Tacosaretasty might have been pretty darn excited to find out that they were right, about that part of it.  Now the other part is that they wrote Nicole’s mother, who we meet in this story, to be very elite, very kind of upper middle class, bourgeois, very kind of condescending type of individual.

DELAYNE:  Condescending snobby bitch.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.  Which, it doesn’t sound like that’s the case, it more sounds like in canon Nicole’s parents are kind of hippie dippie but in negligent but in this case we have a parent who is far too hands on, woah.

DELAYNE: Oh yeah.  Overbearing.

DARKWICCAN:  Okay so, essentially Nicole’s mother calls her to announce that she is coming to town and there’s like no choice in the matter, and Nicole’s mom shows up and Nicole’s like aarghh.  She hasn’t explained her parental relationship to Waverly and she’s not kind of ready to get into it yet so that’s been backburnered as far as the getting-to-know-you phase of the relationship.  So she’s like, “okay, I’ll meet with my mom,” it’s on her day off, “I’ll just meet with her real quick and no big deal.” And the thing is that her mom said, “hey I’m going to see you TODAY,” after Nicole had made arrangements to have lunch with Waverly.  So Nicole’s thinking,“okay I’m just gonna real quick pop in, say ‘mother get out of my life’ at the coffee shop and then leave and go meet Waverly for lunch and no big deal,” so that’s Nicole’s plan. That is not what happens.

DELAYNE: Of course not.

DARKWICCAN: No no, Nicole gets to the coffee shop and immediately her mother starts putting words in her mouth because that’s what her mom does in this universe.  And basically tells Nicole that there’s no way she could possibly be happy as a police officer in a, quote, “backwater town,” no way that she could be happy without her ex-fiance, Shae, and she feels that Nicole has made a terrible mistake, that she just needs the opportunity to correct and, “oh, by the way, I brought Shae with me, here’s your opportunity to correct that mistake.”

DELAYNE: Oh I would be livid.

DARKWICCAN: So her mom, like, pops away, like, “so you two reconnect, I’ll be…”

DELAYNE: Standing in a corner.

DARKWICCAN: Checking out this antique shop down the street

  


DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: And Nicole’s like immediately, “listen I’m really sorry that my mom gave you the impression that this was going to be anything other than a rejection but I’m with someone, I’m with THE someone, and there is just no way that this is gonna happen.  So sorry that you got dragged into this mess but you need to leave.” And Shae was very understanding, she was like, “you know what? I still care about you. But really what I want is for you to be happy, you say that you’re happy so that’s enough for me and I guess this is goodbye forever.”  A very classy thing to do, which we know that Shae is a classy person so it’s like okay great. So Shae stands up and gives Nicole a kiss on the cheek and takes her leave. Well. [Dramatic voice] Unbeknownst to them both Waverly was across the street that very moment, and happened to spy Nicole getting a kiss from an unknown woman.

DELAYNE:  [laughter] Your dramatic reading of that was fantastic.  

DARKWICCAN: Thank you.  This is where this story goes off the rails for me a bit, because here we have two adult, empowered women in Waverly and Nicole.  Waverly is a business owner, Nicole is a police officer, they’re both adults, both in their mid to late twenties, they’ve both been in previous relationships, they have life experience, and so while I know that it is canonically true that Waverly is the jealous type I seriously doubt that she would take one look at this person she’s never seen before, giving a chaste kiss on the cheek to her girlfriend and immediately assume that her girlfriend is cheating on her.  Even with the bullshit with Champ, I just cannot believe that she would go from zero to sixty like that, I just don’t. Not without walking in and going, “excuse me, can you explain what’s going on?”, I can totally see Waverly doing that, I can see her barging into the coffee shop and going, “explain yourself woman!” and demanding an answer in that very moment. I do not buy that she would crumple in on herself and run away and refuse to talk to Nicole, the person who could give her the explanation about what the frick she saw!  I just don’t buy it. I have feelings about this.

DELAYNE: Clearly! You don’t read notes, here’s the other thing, you don’t read notes.  In the notes it does say, “I also took a few creative liberties, so I’m asking for some of that suspension of disbelief that we all know and love in the fiction world”.  So I’m just going to put that out there.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter]

DELAYNE: I’m trying to remember if I read the note beforehand but yeah, I just went with it.  I know it does seem a little… I don’t understand jealousy in the first place, so reading anything where people get crazy jealous doesn’t make sense to me.  So I put all of that aside and just rolled with it.

DARKWICCAN: Well I mean I…. [exasperated sigh]

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Okay, so there’s a note saying suspend your disbelief for this, alright, okay, okay, okay, fine, cool cool cool, fine fine fine.  I just… I couldn’t, clearly I couldn’t.

DELAYNE: And that’s fine.

DARKWICCAN: Even if I had been reading the notes, and was like suspend your disbelief, even so, getting to that moment I would have been like “what?”  Now I say all that to say this. I got my hackles up but here, still really well written, still really well written. And the resolution is still very sweet.   Just that kind of, like, oh come on, you know. We aren’t in high school, come on. This is really surprisingly immature behavior and I didn’t like how all of this onus was put on Nicole to explain everything.  Now ultimately Waverly does go, “oh shit, I over-reacted.”

DELAYNE: [laughter] Right, at least there’s that.

DARKWICCAN: At least there’s that.  And this is the only story in the entire series where I kind of went, “what? No.”  But saying that, again I will emphasize it is still really well written. So...

DELAYNE: So let’s move on.

DARKWICCAN: And she gets her flowers that say, “forgive me”.

DELAYNE: Right?  Oh yeah, there’s that part.

DARKWICCAN: There’s that part.

DELAYNE: So moving on to number five “How do I say ‘I love you’ in flower?”

DARKWICCAN: Ah, back on the fluff train.

DELAYNE: Back on the fluff train and I really enjoyed this one because, of course, they’re building to that point where… we’re at the point in the relationship, and we’re at the point in the fic where the sweet fluffy… of course they both get each other flowers, and I do like that they were different from each other.  I would have been okay if they were exactly the same too, either one would have been ridiculously adorable. Really there’s not much more to say about it than they get flowers for each other and also there’s an…. Well it’s rated T so there’s a fade out scene in the [unintelligible]

DARKWICCAN: Well there’s a confession of love that leads to...

DELAYNE: Yes [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So again pretty basic…

DELAYNE: They finally say I love you and of course they both do it with flowers.

DARKWICCAN: Mmhmm and then they do it.

DELAYNE: And then they do it.

DARKWICCAN: So really this has become a series of major events in the course of a relationship, you’ve got the initial meet-cute, you’ve got the will you go out with me? Can I kiss you? So you’ve got the will you go out with me? First Kiss. Oops first fight.  And then first declarations of love. So moving on would be the next step in a relationship, especially a lesbian one, and that is “How do I say ‘Will you move in with me?’ in flower?” Somehow I’ve ended up with both of the angsty fics. Now this one I have no issues with at all with this premise and execution.  This one introduces a true villain to the story, who is dealt with rather quickly but not before they wreak some serious havoc. Alas alack Tucker Gardner is on the scene and he stages a scenario that involves the police being called and Nicole’s the first on the scene and he manages to shoot her. Now, good news, she’s a cop but she’s a smart cop and so she’s got her vest on.  But, okay, so he shoots her, he shoots her in the vest, still gonna cause some serious injury because vests don’t, like, bounce bullets off of them, they still take that impact but they do just absorb the majority of the impact and spread it out instead of being a pinpoint strike. That’s still going to be pretty painful so...

DELAYNE: It’s going to be like blunt force trauma.

DARKWICCAN: Mmhmm, so Nicole ends up in hospital, Nedley calls Waverly under Nicole’s direction and at that point Waverly has a moment of, “I don’t want this woman to not be in my life and I don’t want her to have to go home to her house and me to go home to my house and I want us to be together,” so that is what brings about the decision to ask Nicole if they can move in together.  Now being in the hospital room she doesn’t have flowers handy but they do have a book, on flora, and their meanings, so she just basically asks Nicole to flip through the book to specific flowers that would suggest cohabitation.

DELAYNE: That was adorable.

DARKWICCAN: So that was very cute.  So that’s how we get to that milestone in the relationship, Nicole had to almost die for Waverly to realise that she wanted to live with her.

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Wait, that sounds horrible.

DELAYNE: [incomprehensible babble while laughing] That’s terrible.

DARKWICCAN: So that brings us to the final fic in this series, this is a seven part, so far, series under the main title that we mentioned earlier _The One with the Officer and the Florist_.  And this is of course the biggest...

DELAYNE: Inevitable conclusion.

DARKWICCAN: Inevitable moment in a relationship, yes.

DELAYNE: “How do I say ‘Will you marry me?’ in flower?”

DARKWICCAN: Mmhmm, and this, I really like this one, I really like this one.  Because Nicole goes through this whole song and dance, not an actual song, she’s not actually singing and dancing.

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: But she goes through this whole very elaborate proposal and I was like, “girl you’re after my own heart” because when I proposed to my wife it was a really elaborate, thought out, planned proposal so I was like, “you go girl, yeah, you get, you do that thing, you do it.”  So I don’t know that we should really go into it too much...

DELAYNE: Uhhhh, yeah I guess we should just tell people to go read it.

DARKWICCAN: Mhm, mhm, although I will say that Waverly is a smart cookie and I feel like she would have figured out what was going on by the second [unintelligible] [laughter]

DELAYNE: Yeah, there was a little suspension of disbelief there too.

DARKWICCAN: But this one I was fine to suspend the disbelief, this one I was fine to suspend it.

DELAYNE: Because it was so fluffy and adorable.

DARKWICCAN: Exactly, it was very sweet.  Yeah, so that is all seven works in this story so far, “The One with the Officer and the Florist.”  So now I think we need to have a little chat with our delightful author, what do you think?

DELAYNE: I think we should definitely do that.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, so yeah we’ll be talking to Tacosaretasty33 in the second half of our show but before we get to that there’s one more thing we must do.   

[CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

 

MUSIC: Fiddle Faddle by Leroy Anderson

 

DARKWICCAN: Hey everybody and welcome back to the _Earp Fiction Addiction_ , the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction, I am your host DarkWiccan and with me is the lovely and floral smelling...

DELAYNE: [laughter] Hi!  It’s Delaney.

DARKWICCAN: And joining us today to talk about her series “The One with the Officer and the Florist”, a series that we talked about prior to the second segment is the delightful and wonderful author Lexi, also known as Tacosaretasty33, but we’re calling her Lexi today.  Lexi welcome to the show.

LEXI: Well thank you guys so much, hello, hello.

DARKWICCAN: Hello, and thank you so much for coming on, this is one of Delayne’s favorite series.

LEXI: Oh man!

DARKWICCAN: She picked this out, when we were planning out season two, she was like, hands up, I want to do The Officer and the Florist.

LEXI: So you got my bribe money in the mail, it worked!

DELAYNE: Hey, hey Lexi.

DARKWICCAN:  We did but [unintelligible whispering] [laughter]

DELAYNE: Did you guys know that I’m a botanist, I just want to put that out there.

DARKWICCAN: Woah, woah, woah, hold the phone, Delayne… you’re a botanist?

LEXI: This is brand new information!

DARKWICCAN: I had no idea!  What!? Okay, talk about catching people off guard.

DELAYNE: So of course I picked the one with flowers.

[General laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So yeah, this is one of the very first episodes that we planned, Delayne was super excited, she came to me like,“we have to, we have to, we have to”, and I said “yes yes, of course, of course.  Hopefully I can convince the author to come on the show.” And luckily you agreed, so thank you so much for that.

LEXI: Yes, you know you twisted my arm over and over again and finally I was like, “sure, I guess”, just kidding, I’m beyond excited, my gosh.

DARKWICCAN: I just kept sending meaningful bouquets, just hoping…

LEXI: Yes, exactly, and you really thought them through, it had all the flowers from the fic in them and I thought, “Oh my god, how can I say no!”

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: If there’s something I know something about it’s courting authors.

DELAYNE: You are really good at it DW.

DARKWICCAN: It’s like my superpower.

LEXI: Everybody needs one, everybody needs one.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, mine only come in handy in this very specific context.  So Lexi, okay, I gotta ask the question….

LEXI: Let’s get serious, c’mon let’s get serious .

DARKWICCAN: Here we go, down to ‘bidness’ here, down to grass tacks.

LEXI: [laughter] Isn’t it brass tacks?  I’m sorry.

DARKWICCAN: It is but I’m trying to keep with the theme here, I’m just trying to stick on the theme.

LEXI: [Still laughing]  I appreciate it, oh my god, that was so funny… okay, I’m being serious, I’m serious, I’m like slapping myself, I’m like, “get real Lexi, you’re an author.  C’mon, they’re not gonna believe you.”

DARKWICCAN: So, alright Lexi, you know what we’re gonna ask you, we’re gonna ask you the question I usually ask authors right outta the gate, how did you get into Wynonna Earp?

LEXI: How I got into Wynonna Earp?  It’s so funny, Tumblr just seems to be a common theme in my story.  I was scrolling through Tumblr like the good gay that I am and I came across the gif compilation of [breathily] Wayhaught on the couch from season one episode nine, and I just kind of looked at it and I was like, “ooh, what’s this? Ooh what show’s this from?” and I did a little research and found this show that Netflix had, luckily I had Netflix, and ooh yeah Wynonna Earp, and I was like, “sure, the whole first season’s on there? Sure, do I need to sleep tonight?  Heck no.” So I binged the whole thing literally in one night, I am not kidding. And then I woke up the next day an Earper like, “ah! Yes, I have found my people, I have found my fandom.” So yeah, I watched the whole thing in one night and jumped into the fanfiction world and, you know, aggressively stalked everyone on twitter, you know as we do, and followed everyone and tried to make friends with other Earpers. Yeah, so I think that I probably started watching it maybe February/March of last year so pretty, not pretty late to the game, kind of late to the game.

DELAYNE: But you jumped right in.

LEXI: But I made it, I finally made it, so I got around, I got around to the game finally and I’ve been here ever since and yeah, I literally don’t watch anything else.  I literally only watch Wynonna Earp, all the time, it has taken over my life in just the best way possible, I think is the best way I can say that so… yeah.

DARKWICCAN: Let’s get down to chatting about your wonderful, lovely, and I’m sure, lovely smelling...

LEXI: Yes, people always tell me that

DELAYNE: I can’t even say it [unintelligible] Right so, you on Tumblr, come across this prompt...

LEXI: Yes

DELAYNE: What was it, about it, that grabbed a hold of you and demanded that you write it?

LEXI: I think just, on the surface it’s just such a fun prompt.  You don’t see those every day and you don’t see prompts with the, can I say the f-word?

DARKWICCAN: Of course you can

LEXI: Okay, sweet, you guys have given me the green light, I’m about to say it all the time now, I’m gonna change every title of the fic like “ooh, can I kiss you on the fucking mouth?” Like okay, sure! I’m changing every title now. You guys have created a monster over here.  Anyways, sorry. To answer your question I read the prompt and like, “oh my god, can I say fuck? How do I say ‘fuck you’ in flowers?” Like that is unique. But I think there’s a bigger story there and here we go, we’re about to go on a tangent… So, the Tumblr prompt, I found it last summer, so summer of 2017 in June.  I like literally remember where I was sitting and what I was doing and what I was wearing, when I found the prompt, it’s like burned into my brain. Because it was the first time that I ever truly considered writing fanfiction, this was my first story ever. And it’s not the first thing I ever published but it’s the first one I ever wrote so it’s always going to be really special to me but yeah, there’s just something about this prompt that I think spoke to the writer in me that other prompts I’d seen, and other ideas I’d seen, they never really did before. And then I come across this thing, I’m just scrolling through Tumblr, like I do clearly, and I see this long blog post about all these really cool prompt ideas and I thought, “Oh that’s so fun, someone’s going to have so much fun with this, writing all the cute things, they’re in a snowstorm together, they get in an elevator.” You know I’m scrolling through and then I see somebody re-blogged it and then they added this prompt at the end where person A owns a flower shop and person B storms in, slaps a twenty dollar bill on the counter and says, “How do I say ‘fuck you’ in flower?”  I was just floored, I was stunned, I was all of those words that I can’t even think of right now, and I was like, “this is the coolest thing I have ever read” and I thought, “somebody’s going to write it and I’m so jealous, that’s so cool,” and it took me a hot second to realise, I was like, “oh my god…. I… I could write that, I don’t have to wait for somebody else to write that, I could do that, maybe, I don’t know, we’ll see what happens.” So I kid you not, I had a notebook next to me, it was during my lunch break when I was going through Tumblr, so I had a notebook next to me, so I opened it and I just started writing. I wrote down the prompt, I wrote down the flowers, because they actually included the flowers in the prompt, and I just started writing and I didn’t stop until I got to the end of the first part of the series, and granted it was kind of rough, it was a rough draft but I wrote the entire thing in one sitting and I remember I sat back and I was like “holy crap, did I just do that?”

DARKWICCAN: [laughter]

LEXI: Oh, that was kind of fun.  You know, this was awesome. But yeah, so there was just something about the prompt that really spoke to me, I think as a writer, but also I think as a person because I had found Wynonna Earp earlier on in that year and Wayhaught is just incredibly important to me I think, for me personally on my journey, you know, self-discovery, self-acceptance, and everything like that.   So when I found this prompt and I realised that I could write Wayhaught fanfiction, I could honor this amazing couple that helped me personally and then also find a way to understand myself through writing because I’d never really done that before, I’d never really considered that before, it was just really like this beautiful combination of everything and it turned into a pretty cool series I think...

DELAYNE: Turned into a fucking fantastic series!

LEXI: Oh my god, I’m keeping you guys, you’re good for my ego.  But it was me as a writer and I think what I brought to the prompt and also just what the prompt itself had and I think there was just this really cool moment where everything kind of came together and it grabbed me and it didn’t let go until I finished.

DARKWICCAN: Great, that’s awesome, I love it when a prompt sparks that degree of inspiration, it’s like all of a sudden you caught a wave and you just ride it out...

LEXI: Yeah, you just ride it.

DARKWICCAN: The Tumblr prompt inspired the initial story, you had to do a lot of research on flowers, you really did.  I’m curious if going on from there, after that first initial story, how do I say fuck you in flower, it’s just so fun to say….

LEXI: It is fun to say.

DARKWICCAN: Did the flowers after that, as you were researching flora, did that inspire each subsequent fic or did you find the flora to suit the fic ideas as you went forward in the series?

LEXI: Yes and no, and yes and no.  There’s no simple answer to this question.  As you’re seeing, everything I say is complicated and has multiple layers and, so many tangents so buckle up, that’s all I can say.  So, after I had written the Fuck You Flower one I didn’t really know where I wanted to take it, I didn’t actually consider taking it anywhere I didn’t consider publishing it, I was just, “oh cool I wrote a story okay done, okay I’m done with that.”  But there was just more, I think, to the universe that this prompt created for me and it just bugged me and bugged me and bugged me until finally I was just like, “shut up, I’ll write you I guess, fine, I’ll do it.” But then I was like I have no words, I don’t know what to say.  So I thought a lot about it and I did some research, the website that I’m pretty sure I’m a card-carrying member now because I visited that website so many times but I found all these flowers, I mean all these flowers, different wonderful things and I was like wow, these are awesome, I wish I could come up with a prompt like the one that was given to me, but then I was like “oh wait, I guess I could do that too, you know, because I’m a writer I can come up with prompts now too right?”.  So I was like, where do I want to take this? Well, we’ll have the meet-cute, the classic, so I was like what is next? Well, they’re gonna go on a date maybe hopefully so I’m like let’s go with that so I built one thing after the other and it gradually became a milestone fic I guess is the best way I could say it. You know you have the first date, the first kiss, the first fight, the I Love Yous, the moving in, the engagement. I had all these things and I found the flowers to fit them then I had to change the prompts a little bit to work with the flowers that I found and it was just give and take back and forth.

DELAYNE: This was published way before season three, sounds like you even wrote it before season two, or at least the first one?

LEXI: So I wrote the first part in June and then continued to write the second part, the third part, the fourth part, right before August so it kind of went with season two. It was something that I did during season two but I think we had already been renewed for a season three at that point, because I do remember collapsing on my carpet and crying before I started writing, because it had been renewed so yeah, I think we had already been renewed for season three but yeah, so this was before, way before, long before.

DELAYNE: It was published though, before season three was even close to airing.

LEXI: Yeah, it was.

DELAYNE: So my question was, was it exciting to see that the canon resembled your version of why Nicole didn’t talk to her parents?

LEXI: Oh my gosh, that’s such a fun question, I was… oh my god, this is going to be so bad, I can’t even believe I’m admitting this, but I forgot that I did that.  To be completely honest, this is honesty hour prepare yourselves, I forgot I had written it that way, even when I was watching season three I was thinking ,“oh the writers, that’s so cool that they did that, they didn’t make it because she was gay,” I was like, “wow, gold star for them, that’s awesome.”  Then, literally recently I was like, “wait I wrote that too.” So finally when I realised it I was like, “oh okay.” I walked a little taller that day, gonna buy myself an extra cup of coffee, like okay, gold star, so that’s really cool now, looking back I was like, “oh hey dang I did that.”

DARKWICCAN: So did you start out intending to write an entire series, did you just have that initial burst of creativity and had the idea based off the prompt.   Did you start out intending to write an entire series or did the subsequent fics happen organically?

LEXI: You know, the easy answer is heck no techno, I didn’t think I was going to write a series, let alone more than one story.  Like I said, I didn’t envision when I started writing that it would go past the Fuck You Flower story but then it did because this story literally would not shut up until I wrote it.  But even then, even when I’d gotten to the forgiveness part, because I had written all four of those parts kind of very quickly, or in a very short amount of time, I never considered making it a series.  I was just going to make it a multi-chapter fic. And I didn’t quite know why I did that at the time, but I think looking back at it, because hindsight is so beautiful and 20/20, I think I was initially too scared to make it a series because at that point, I was just starting out, I was a brand new writer, I’d never even published before and all my experiences with series in the Wayhaught fanfiction world were of these beautifully crafted, wonderfully made, well thought out, just amazing series, and I was just like, “oh god I could never do something like that, this series isn’t that.” So for so long I was like, “I’m not going to make it a series because I’m not good enough to write a series,” and then, dang this is about to get real honest, so yeah it definitely started that way but then I think I, I got to the point where I realised that, you know, that I could. It took a hot second to get there, it took a lot of, you know, a lot of self-reflection, a lot of help from other people that, you know, I don’t think validates the right word but to bolster me and to say that yes you do have a really unique creative voice and it deserves to be heard kind of thing.  But it’s actually so funny, one of my friends asked me a while ago, “what was the goal of writing the series?” And of course because I didn’t start out to write a series, I didn’t have a goal in mind when I was writing it, but looking back I think my goal was just to say anyone can be a writer even one who has never written before or even considered themselves to be a good writer. You know that’s me, I have never done any creative writing before, I’d never thought I was good at it, never thought I was any good at it, never thought I had anything important to say in that world but, or in that vein but, once I figured out that I did I was like, “okay, I have a voice and it does deserve to be heard,” and so I think that was my goal, to show that anyone can be a writer. That’s definitely probably not the answer you were expecting to that question but yeah so I didn’t start out intending to write a series but I ended up writing one and I’m incredibly happy that I did.

DARKWICCAN: So are we, so are we

DELAYNE: I’m incredibly happy that we have you on here and that we are talking to you, I really hope that your words help inspire some people listening because you’re affecting me right now, well thank you.

LEXI: Oh my gosh

DELAYNE: I needed this today.  Well the next question is not so happy, [laughter] we see right away, you know Nicole mentions that she’s dealing with a homophobic coworker, that’s the whole reason for that first prompt, we don’t see any backlash to them dating in the earlier parts until you bring Tucker in in part six, so was that a way to bring that back around?

LEXI: You know, the writer in me is like, “totally I meant to make it full circle and have it beautiful and stuff,” but no it wasn’t intentional.  I started the story in that way because I think it was, again, I think it just comes back to me, and I think it’s so funny, I think stories are such a reflection of the writers and I literally don’t say this to toot my own horn and just go drone on about myself, but I really do think that pieces of ourselves and our fears and our hopes and our dreams and everything kind of gets infused into the stories that we’re writing.   So at the time that I was writing the first part of this series I was in my first job and I was just becoming really comfortable with myself and starting to be more open about who I am so of course, there’s that natural fear that you’re gonna encounter rejection or homophobia in the workplace. Of course it found its way into my story, just naturally like that, love how the universe works that way, but yeah, so I think that was really important, an important decision to make because I was able to kind of quell that fear of mine, like if I ever encountered it I totally have the best way ever to react to it because they’re gonna have no clue I’m saying fuck you with these beautiful flowers, granted the bouquet’s not that great aesthetically pleasing wise.  You know they’re gonna have no idea so I was like, “awesome,” you know wipe my hands off, whatever, like I just dealt with homophobia. But yeah, and then I kind of moved through the rest of the fic, the date and the kiss and you know everything kind of moves on from there it was just so fluffy like my god I got cavities when I went to go and re-read it like, “Jesus, Lexi what did you just write? My god.” But um yeah they’re so soft and I think it’s so pure and I just never considered really bringing anything really difficult back into it, besides, I think, the angst that I bring into that move in chapter, um, or sorry the forgiveness chapter, but yeah when I got to six, or uh six for the series I knew I wanted it to be like meat and potatoes, you know, something, you know, like with some teeth in it.  You know everything has just been super soft and I wanna cut my teeth as a writer doing something big, so I said, “what am I gonna do?” I’m gonna hurt Nicole cause I’m a sadist. No! I’m gonna hurt Nicole and I knew I wanted her to get hurt and end up in the hospital and then to have them, you know, her and waverly have this really cute bedside interaction because I’m such a person who loves that, that trope is just one of my favorites, so I knew I wanted all those elements in there but then I guess I created a problem for myself I was like how the heck is Nicole gonna get shot on the job. I could just do the natural oh there was a bank robbery and she just happened to be you know shot but I was like no that just… that doesn’t really pack a punch, so what am I gonna do I’m gonna bring in a person I hate so much from season two Tucker Gardner...

DARKWICCAN: The true villain of season two.

LEXI: The true villain, exactly, the true villain and I think it was a choice because yeah, I did get to deal with homophobia again but I got to beat it down in a better way than I did in the first part. Because in the first part it was a very passive aggressive sort of, “these flowers may look nice but really they don’t mean nice things.” You know but the sixth part was, you know, this character who transcends the page because it’s someone who we could run into I think in our day-to-day lives and someone maybe we have.  So Tucker was kind of bigger than the story when I was writing it I had no idea where it came from, but I remember writing it and I went back to go read it and I was like, “oh, goodness Lexi, this is, you know, this is heavy,” this is stuff clearly that I was wrestling with personally, that’s how it ended up on the page but, um, I knew I needed to deal with it in a way that meant something, so of course I have sherriff Nedley shoot him, like, awesome, cool, love Nedley. But it was more than that because the conversation that Waverly and Nicole have when Nicole’s telling her, you know, what Tucker did, what Tucker said, and she even, at least in my mind for me, because for me it all happens like a movie in my head, I see how it all plays out and I write really fast you know I’m seeing the movie and I’m like, “oh god, write it down, write it down.”  But Nicole’s telling Waverly this and she’s clearly like there’s this piece of her that believes it because I think it’s so true, at least I know for me there’s always going to be that little whisper you know that in the back of your mind that’s oh maybe they’re right, you know, maybe they’re onto something and you just start to spiral but what’s so beautiful is that Waverly’s like, “stop, don’t believe this because there’s nothing, there can be nothing, bad about what’s between us. Because it’s beautiful and it’s wonderful and it can’t be anything but perfect because you’re great, you’re kind, you’re selfless, you’re enough.” And then from there I was like I need to, I want to make a statement about what Tucker said but also about what Stephanie Jones did, and what her mom did, and what all these other people in her life did, and it’s when you are judged or you are you know, cut down at the knees and you’re faced with these things it’s never actually about you.  It’s the person who’s doing those things to you, it’s their own insecurities and limitations and imperfections that they’re projecting onto you, and so it’s never actually about you. Your worth as a person, and I guess these characters but also I think it’s bigger than that, as a person, is not contingent on another person’s acceptance or rejection of you. It’s something that you inherently have, and so you exist and therefore you matter and it shouldn’t matter who you love. And so I knew introducing this really big scene with a character who’s incredibly homophobic, and who just represents so much more I think than a character, and something that we see in our day-to-day lives, you know, sometimes, that I wanted to address it in a way that maybe gave people the courage that they needed to say, “you know Tucker, or whoever that unnamed person is who said things to me, they’re wrong,” Because they are, you know, you are beautiful and you are worthy and you are valued and you exist so therefore you matter.  It turned into this really big, you know, this really big chapter, part of the overall series that I don’t think I intended when I first started writing it and I definitely didn’t envision, “ooh, I’m gonna make this huge commentary about homophobia,” and about the lgbt community as a whole and I didn’t intend to do that, but once I started to I knew I needed to do it in the right way, and so I hope I did. [laughter] But yeah, I basically just said what I would want someone to say to me, and what I would want to know if I was ever faced with that...

DELAYNE: What you need to hear yourself.

LEXI: Exactly, yeah and so that’s where I took it and I hope it turned out pretty good. [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Well I mean it’s such a big scary topic to try to wrap your arms around so I think that what you were able to convey, you know, in that one story is very effective.  Lexi thank you so much for coming on, this has been a lot of fun, I love how passionate you are, this has been great but before we let you go, you know, we do have to ask you the final question that we ask all of our authors and that is of course… Delayne?

DELAYNE: You are stranded on a beautifully diverse ecologically deserted island...

LEXI: Okay, well at least I’m happy, it’s got my flowers, I’m good.

DELAYNE: … and you only have one fanfic to read, what is it?

LEXI: I can’t have two?  Like I can’t just pretend I have one and then casually slip in another one?

DARKWICCAN: Just the one I’m afraid.

LEXI: Just the one?  Oh man. That’s so, so hard.

DELAYNE: Flip a coin.

LEXI: I know right, I was like two jump to mind but I’m gonna have to go with the one I literally just read, I just binged it monday, I didn’t intend to but I sat down and I was like, “oh my god, this story is not gonna let me go until I finish reading it.” So I took hours out of my day that I didn’t have but I did it anyway and I read it, and it was so wonderful, it was “Let Our Hearts Be the Only Sound” by Come Lay in My Bed and Lucky Wants to Know.

DARKWICCAN: Oh yes.

LEXI: It was SO well written, so lovely, I love them, I want to be their friend. I’m like trying to bribe them, please be my friends, I would love to have writer friends.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, that is a fantastic story and interestingly Come Lay in My Bed is one of our transcribers so shout out to them.

LEXI: No way!

DARKWICCAN: So shout out to them.  And I’m sure a lot of authors in the fandom know that Lucky Wants to Know is one of the fandom’s most active beta readers.

LEXI: Seriously, they’re just wonderful people and yes, their story is… I just can’t even, I could go an hour just singing their praises cause they’re just so wonderful.  Yeah, that story was so great and I hope everyone reads it, my goodness, everyone deserves to read it because it’s beautiful.

DARKWICCAN: Because it is your desert island fic we will be providing a link to it in the show description for this episode that everyone will get a chance to read “Let Our Hearts be the Only Sound” by Come Lay In My Bed and Lucky Wants To Know.  Thank you again Lexi so much for coming on, you’ve become quite the prolific author, I have no doubt that we’ll have you back on the show in the future.

LEXI: Oh gosh, I was scared you guys would say, “we’re never inviting her back, she just talks too much!” [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: If that was your aim, if that was your aim you failed.  But we do have to let you go, we are out of time but I look forward to reading, to continuing to read the works that you’re currently posting which is the glass blowing story?

LEXI: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: “Forged in Fire”?

LEXI: “Forged in Fire”, yes.  You were going to get there, it’s fine.

DARKWICCAN: I almost said Fire Forged and thought that’s not right, it’s close but it’s not right.

LEXI: That could be cool though, I’ll have that in my head now.

DARKWICCAN: So I hope you have a great rest of your evening and I look forward to seeing you around the boards.

LEXI: Yes, thank you guys so much for this, it was seriously amazing, can’t thank you enough.

DARKWICCAN: And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for tuning in.  
  
Huge thanks to Lexi for joining us to talk about her fic series 'the One with the Officer and the florist'.  
  
  
Thanks as always to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro  
  
Background music for the episode was:  
  
A Proper Story  by Darren Korb  
  
Noodle It Out by Ryan Ike  
  
Fiddle Faddle by Leroy Anderson  
  
and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan  
  
  
If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast.  
  
And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.  
  
And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.  
  
  
Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
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> 
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> 
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> 
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	3. Wild, Wild, West

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week on the show DW and Delayne dust off their dusters and shine their over-large belt buckles as they sit down to chat about tigerlo's epic masterpiece 'find a home, lonely heart'!
> 
> Afterward, they talk with tigerlo and try not to swoon at her delightful New Zealand accent.

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/wild-wild-west)

 

Read the fic!

[find a home, lonely heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14968634) by tigerlo

 

Episode artwork by: [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

 

 

Transcript by MrsBlueBacon

 

EFA Episode 203- Wild, Wild West

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy and welcome everybody to another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to _Wynonna Earp_ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is my rootin-tootin [ph] sidekick

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are really excited this week because we are taking on a western epic.

 

DELAYNE : Ep-ic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Epic-ic-ic-ic-ic [ph]. Huge, this story. Just shy of three hundred thousand words.

 

DELAYNE : Oh. What...what do we have to compare to that?

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s actually...here, to give you perspective. This story is just about the equivalent, it’s a little less than, but it’s just about the equivalent of _The Fellowship of the Ring_ coupled with _The Return of the King_.

 

DELAYNE : Ah [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : _Lord of the Rings_ , yeah. So, epic.

 

DELAYNE : Epic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Epic. Yes. [laughter] So, this is, this has been a joy to undertake, and I do mean joy. That’s not sarcastic. This has been so much fun and so amazing to watch this story come to life. The story that we’re talking about, if you haven’t guessed yet, is “find a home, lonely heart” by tigerlo. And this is a piece that she actually hinted at working on or beginning work on when she was on the show last year.

 

DELAYNE : Right? I love that we got a sneak peak, and that we’re having her back.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : Or we’re talking about...yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : Sorry, didn’t mean to spoil that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, we’re...it’s ok.

 

DELAYNE : People know. People know we’re gonna talk.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, yeah, I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler. It’s clear that we’re dedicating this entire episode to this story, how could we not. So, naturally we’d have her on. And I kinda [sic] feel like maybe this is a thing we need to do. Maybe we need to make the third episode of each season, a tigerlo episode.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Maybe that could become a tradition.

 

DELAYNE : Or like the WynHaught brotp [ph] always being seven, we’re always gonna [sic] talk to tigerlo…

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh yeah, exactly.

 

DELAYNE : ...on number three.

 

DARKWICCAN : On number three. Maybe this is a thing we can do. We’re kinda [sic] setting a precedent. Ya know.

 

DELAYNE : I’m ok with it. Let’s go.

 

DARKWICCAN : But anyway...

 

DELAYNE : Let’s go with it. Awesome.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Me too. I’m good with it too. Alright, uh, so this is a massive story, and it took, gosh. What, like...Ok, I say “only”. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Because it didn’t feel like only this period of time when she was writing it, I’m sure. Probably, it went in waves of great bursts of energy in getting the words on the page. Couldn’t get ‘em [ph] down fast enough, and then times where probably it felt like a bit of a slog. Yeah, she spent about eight months on this piece, I think. If we gauge from when we interviewed her last year to now.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And she finished it completely before it started posting. She was like, “I’m not gonna post this until it’s done and beta’d and has a stamp of approval from my beta who is thegaysmurf and only then will I start posting the story.” ‘Cause...and I can relate to that, ya know, ‘cause it’s really tough, uh, there’s the impulse to post unfinished work, but what if you don’t finish?

 

DELAYNE : Well, I know she also mentioned that also if she gets to something later and wants to change, and, it’s hard to retcon when you’ve already published it, [laughter] so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. I mean you can, that’s the thing about fanfiction and fanfiction sites. You are fully able to go back and make changes, but then you have to let your readers know, “hey, I made this change”, and it’s a whole thing. So, yeah, better to get it all done in one and post it as a series of chapters that is complete, then take a risk.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Especially when you’re dealing with something of this, uh, sheer weight. I mean, it’s just huge.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Umm, what were we saying before we started recording? I was doing a horrible Scottish accent.

 

DELAYNE : I said, “It’s friggin’ [ph] huge. ‘Cause you know there are three sizes in Scotland: there’s wee, not so wee, and friggin’ huge.” [said in Scottish accent]

 

DARKWICCAN : Friggin’ huge, yeah. It’s so big it’s got its own gravitational pull. [said in Scottish accent]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : By the way, that’s a really decent Scottish accent. Way better than what I just did. Um, so...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, I did spend a year there, but that’s pretty much the only phrase that I know. That I can pull off.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] But anyway, [laughter] right, so...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...I think we’ve gone on quite long enough about the sheer size and length of this [laughter], that sounded so naughty.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Anyway.

 

DELAYNE : We have discussed at length, the length of this fic, so let’s move on.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, so let’s talk about the setting a little bit. It is set in the old west. Uh, and I believe it’s post-Civil War, I think.

 

DELAYNE : I’m trying...yeah, now I’m trying to figure out if there’s anything specific that clues us in.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, I don’t think there’s anything specific, no. I’m really racking my brain.

 

DELAYNE : It must be fairly, ya know, fairly open. Didn’t want to be too tied to...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, but it’s definitely...yeah, it’s definitely the west.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : For sure, and it’s the old west. And I would venture to guess it’s probably sometime around the eighteen-eighties.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, I…[laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I just have that feeling. I have that feeling that that’s about when it is, so...

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : I base that on nothing other than my gut.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You just reached in and pulled out a number [laughter].

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, it’s not just that, it’s just, I don’t know. I feel like that if it had been going on concurrently to the Civil War, that, ya now, Smurf was consulting on this, ya know acting as the beta and the consultant, and I know that Smurf has got an extensive mental library of this time period. I mean, it’s like their favorite time period.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, I feel like if there, if this story was taking place concurrent to, or even just before the Civil War were to break out in the East and the South, that is something that would be on the topic of people’s minds.

 

DELAYNE : Right, that makes sense.

 

DARKWICCAN : But no one is talking about it, so I’m thinking maybe it’s about fifteen years ish [ph] after that. ‘Cause that gives it enough time that it’s almost a full generation.

 

DELAYNE : You really put some thought into this. I’m impressed.

 

DARKWICCAN : I did put, I did put thought into this, and here’s why. Because of the time period and the setting, there are limitations to...well, not, well, yeah, limitations created by societal and cultural tradition.

 

DELAYNE : That’s a very valid point there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right?

 

DELAYNE : And very relevant to this fic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Extremely relevant to this fic because this is not a free and easy time for women who love women.

 

DELAYNE : It’s not a free and easy time for women [laughter] in general.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s not, exactly, full stop. Full stop, you’re absolutely right. Yes, that is a valid point back at ya [ph], just to volley back your way.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so, it’s very interesting to see how tigerlo has depicted this time period and the mindset of the people of this town, Purgatory, and how you have this very wide range of opinion. You have basically one extreme to the other.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : But the feeling that tigerlo kind of, the sense you get is that those who are on the friendly extreme are very much in the minority, and those who are in the more traditional, not so friendly extreme, are the majority of the townspeople. But we, luckily, don’t have to deal with them too much, with the exception of one.

 

DELAYNE : Of one particularly annoying...

 

DARKWICCAN : Champ Hardy.

 

DELAYNE : Man, he’s uh, yeah, he’s the epitome of the time period of stupid male who just walks in and constantly harasses Waverly.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s the fact that he walks around acting like Waverly belongs to him, and there’s no sort of...Waverly has done nothing with, ya know, to...she’s behaved in no way that should make Champ have this assumption, other than he’s just like, “I fancy you. I’m a man. You’re a woman. Therefore, I demand your time and you’re gonna give it to me”.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : “And be grateful about it”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] The way you put that, man, gets me all riled up.

 

DARKWICCAN : I know. Oh. Ohhh. This is, I think, the most despicable and dangerous version of Champ that tigerlo has ever written. In the other works, like the introspective pieces that she did, that we talked about last year, he’s a douche, but he’s not...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ..he’s not dangerous, and that’s the difference here.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : This Champ is definitely dangerous. I’m hittin’ those “D” words, man.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Despicable. Disparaging. Dirtbag. Douche. Dangerous. Dickhead.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I was gonna add to that, but I think you’ve got it fairly well covered. Plus I’m not that quick.

 

DARKWICCAN : Danke schöen. [German for thank you]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Oh shit. You got me there. [laughter] Damnit DW.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Dare not.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ok, we should stop.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : We could go on for hours.

 

DARKWICCAN : We got off track. We derailed.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Ok. So, yes. Champ is um, very much, around. Especially in the first, little over the first half of this piece. And um, he is quite problematic, and I gotta [sic] say, tigerlo does a great job of really emphasizing the, she emphasizes the time and place by having Champ behave the way that he does.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Which then provides a perfect contrast to how the good people in Waverly’s life are different and supportive of her. Even while being very cautious and careful about what they speak about and how they speak about things. Umm, and one of those fantastic members of Waverly’s found family is Chrissy Nedley.

 

DELAYNE : I love Chrissy. I love good Chrissy who is lovely and helpful and wonderful in the fic and this is like the best Chrissy. Ever.

 

DARKWICCAN : I agree. This is my favorite Chrisy. Of all the Chrissy’s in fanfiction, this is my favorite so far.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, she steps right up at the beginning...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...and really is pullin’ for her bff Waverly.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. I love that, so Nicole comes to town because she’s taken a posting with the sheriff’s station, under Nedley. Randy Nedley. And, uh, Chrissy is the first person to meet her. And Chrissy is...immediately, you catch that she is very sharp, very intelligent.

 

DELAYNE : Very observant.

 

DARKWICCAN : And kind. Observant. Observant for sure. And kind and non-judgemental and just a good egg. You get this within moments of meeting her for the first time on the page. And it’s really nice to see Nicole, this stranger, be welcomed so genuinely right off the bat.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And that Chrissy immediately twigs into the type of person Nicole is. Which is a good person.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : With certain interests which are similar to her best friend’s. So she immediately...almost immediately takes Nicole to meet Waverly for the first time. And oh my gosh, that first meeting.

 

DELAYNE : I…[laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : tigerlo is in peak form on this fic you guys. Absolute peak form.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, it really…’cause the connection that we see in the canon scene when they first meet is very well transcribed into this setting of tigerlo’s fic.

 

DARKWICCAN : But done in her style.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : tigerlo’s trademark style of just beautiful, evocative prose. Where you just smell everything. You hear everything. You just are in the environment. She sets the scene so beautifully that you feel like you’re standing in the room observing this interaction happening. Everything is so clear and the descriptions are so clever and beautiful that you’re there. You’re just there.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah. You’re definitely feeling all the feels. [laughter] The pull and the attraction between them. And you’re even picking up that Chrissy is pickin’ it up.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Again, coming back to Chrissy, ya know. I love the depth that tigerlo has given to her.

 

DELAYNE : Definitely.

 

DARKWICCAN : She could have...yeah, she could have just used her as a means to introduce Nicole to Waverly and then just sort of let her wander off.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But she made her integral to this story. She made her important to Waverly and Nicole’s story, and helping them see each other. Really see the potential there and see the fact that this is a mutual thing. It’s not one sided. I really think they both needed that because, again, jumping back to the time and the place, this is a dangerous time and it’s bad to be a woman, but if you’re a woman-loving woman it’s even more dangerous and things could go horribly wrong if anything is...if there’s a misunderstanding, if something’s misconstrued and the other person has misread their crushes, ya know, feelings, it could go very, very badly, so...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It’s better to be cautious and you’re gonna, you’re gonna doubt everything like, “wait, that could be a sign, but it could also not be a sign and I shouldn’t read too much.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, yeah. You’re gonna doubt. You’re gonna constantly second guess yourself. You’re gonna be anxious and worried, it’s not great, but, setting that aside for a second, something about the shop that Waverly runs caught my attention, and I’m sure it caught your attention, too, Delayne.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, that it’s covered in plants?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : So...

 

DARKWICCAN : Little Waverly is...

 

DELAYNE : Waverly’s a botanist! [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yay! [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Uh, of course, I am definitely all for botanist-Waverly, and the fact that she’s self taught. There is something...like when I got into plants, I don’t even know exactly what it was or why. I do remember when I went through the...very common for young lesbians to go through the Wiccan phase.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : So, I was reading up on herbology and stuff like that. I, uh, I got into plants and then...so, Waverly just understanding plants and connecting with them in a strange way, I get that. I don’t know why or how, but I’m good with plants to a certain extent. If you ask me to identify something, that might take me awhile, and if you ask me how to grow it, I have no clue. I can only identify things, but, uh, yeah, I adore botanist-Waverly. ‘Cause I get her.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and she’s, of course, extremely talented and gifted. And has essentially taken the place; well, not essentially taken the place, but she is definitely working in tandem, whether the town doctor wants this or not, with the town doctor because...

 

DELAYNE : Is there a town doctor? I thought there was not.

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t know. Actually, I don’t think there is. I think she sort of serves in lieu of.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah. A doctor might pass through, but there’s no...

 

DARKWICCAN : There’s no steady. Yeah, you’re absolutely right. Yeah, you’re right that there’s not a doctor in town, and she fills that purpose for the everyday sort of aches, pains, and ailments of the townspeople. Ya know, they’ll come in and they’ll want something for a headache, or some sort of foot oil, or something, an antiseptic for scrapes and cuts, or what have you. Or sleeping draft, things like that. So, ya know, it’s interesting that the townspeople depend on Waverly, and they have to trust her to a degree. But there’s also the murmurations of “is she a witch?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, of course, because she’s taking plants and magical things are happening. There’s nothing science related there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : No chemistry involved.

 

DARKWICCAN : No, none at all. She’s just waving a little magic wand and “poof”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It does. It seems like magic. Yeah, so, of course, you’re gonna be like “I don’t know [throaty sound only]”. And she’s, ya know, independent, and her family is, has some history as well, so they’re gonna lead towards witchcraft, of course.

 

DARKWICCAN : And speaking of spookiness, uh, there is something a little spooky happening in the background of this story.

 

DELAYNE : There’s a “wait, what was that? Did I see something?”

 

DARKWICCAN : “I thought I saw a shadow. A human shaped shadow, but I’m not sure.” Yeah. There have been mysterious disappearances happening and they started up shortly after Nicole arrived in town, and um, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say: it’s not Nicole.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It’s definitely not Nicole.

 

DARKWICCAN : Definitely not Nicole. Nicole is way too distracted for it to be Nicole.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but yeah, there’s this mysterious happening where young women are starting to disappear from the town, and no one’s really...not only the town, but also the outlying homesteads and no one’s really sure what’s going on. And nothing like this has ever really happened in Purgatory before, so there’s a lot of tension. And so this is sort of a secondary plot that sort of driving the momentum of the story forward. Because the relationship between Waverly and Nicole appears to be moving quite slow. It feels like a slow burn, and that’s because tigerlo dedicates so much time to establishing their basic communication with each other. Again, I revert back to something I said earlier, which is: this is a time where you better be damn sure that the person you are attracted to and expressing interest in feels the same way. You better be sure because if you misunderstand anything you could be killed. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Right?!

 

DARKWICCAN : So, uh, so there is a lot of conversation that happens between the two of them and there is genuine misunderstand that happens too, because there’s that lack of surety about the other person’s feelings and, so, it feels like a very long, protracted, drawn out slow burn.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] ‘Cause, how many...there’s a lot of chapters, and...

 

DARKWICCAN : Twenty-three.

 

DELAYNE : And it takes a while, chapter wise.

 

DARKWICCAN : It does. And each chapter is around twenty-plus thousand words.

 

DELAYNE : Wow. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] And, also, another thing tigerlo does here, if there is a conversation that needs to happen with other characters, that maybe could have been done in a quick, ya know, in a far quicker way, if there’s a conversation that needs to be had, she allows the characters to have the conversation.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : But that’s so good. That’s so good though, you want that, you know.

 

DELAYNE : Right. We really get to learn about Chrissy and Wynonna and Doc and Gus and...

 

DARKWICCAN : Curtis.

 

DELAYNE : Even Randy. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And Maddie is there. Yeah, I mean we get to know all of these characters because...and they’re all so beautifully crafted. It would have been...

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...a shame to have lost any of the scenes that we get.

 

DELAYNE : I agree.

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you. Thank you. I’m glad that you agree with me.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I feel validated, thank you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I am here to validate you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, thank you so much. So yeah, because tigerlo takes her time with everybody, we get to know, again, the supportive family that Waverly has around herself. And they all have to work together to solve the mystery of the mysterious shadows and the disappearances of the, ya know, young women. And at one point in the story, near the end, as it should, as a good story should build toward, a climax, things get pretty dire and scary.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s good to know, after that gets resolved that there’s this safety net of love and support around the characters.

 

DELAYNE : Right, but back to the slow burn itself.

 

DARKWICCAN : Back to the slow burn, yes.

 

DELAYNE : So, all of the disappearances happen, what, within a week?

 

DARKWICCAN : Within a week.

 

DELAYNE : Within a week. So, Nicole...they start happening when Nicole arrives and it concludes within a week, so this...

 

DARKWICCAN : I’d say a week and a half.

 

DELAYNE : ...excruciatingly slow burn is actually only a week and a half in their own time.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I’d say from the time that Waverly and Nicole first meet to the time they finally confess, fully confess, their feelings and desires for eachother. And I mean fully.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] No more hinting around.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that’s maybe five or six days. Which is break-neck...that’s like...which is light speed. For this time period.

 

DELAYNE : Is this the fastest slow burn of the slow burniest fast…?

 

DARKWICCAN : Fast? Right? That’s a very good question. ‘Cause courting and courtship in that time period could take months, and in some cases, years. So this, again, it has the feeling of a slow burn, but it’s not. It is definitely...I mean it is because of the word count and how it’s drawn out, but it’s not if you look at it objectively from the lens of how much time has actually passed.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] And I love that. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : It’s all about perspective.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s all about perspective. Ya know whose perspective I really want to, uh, get some time with?

 

DELAYNE : Maybe from the author who has an accent and is from New Zealand.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, our beloved kiwi author, tigerlo, yes.

 

DELAYNE : Yay.

 

DARKWICCAN : I am so excited to chat with her in just a moment, so let’s not tarry too long. [CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

 

MUSIC : A Cowboy Reborn by Bytheway-May

 

DARKWICCAN : And welcome back everybody to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to _Wynonna Earp_ fanfiction. I am still your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is the fabulous, talented, and excellent co-host...

 

DELAYNE : Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are so excited because we have with us today the author of the pic wild west AU story that we were talking about before the break. The amazing, the inimitable, the returning for episode three for a second time, tigerlo, who we’re gonna call Amy. Amy, welcome back.

 

AMY : Hi everybody.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : That was such a muted “hi”. I feel like I should have a way more enthusiastic. You guys are like “HI”. Is that better?

 

DARKWICCAN : No, that...I’ll take either of them. I’ll take all of ‘em. I’ll take all the “hi’s” from ya.

 

AMY : Great. Wonderful.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, you have been busy.

 

AMY : I have been busy. I have been busy.

 

DARKWICCAN : You have been very busy. It’s like the, uh, inspiration struck and you have been writing a lot.

 

AMY : A lot. A lot. Far more than I ever anticipated I would ever write for anything, let alone a fic, but yes, I have been.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] It has been a joy to watch you be so prolific and produce such consistently high quality, mind blowingly good fiction.

 

AMY : I’m glad. I’m glad. I’m very, very happy that’s how it comes across and you’re not like, “man, this prolific pain in the ass”.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : “Crap. Boring.” That’s good. I’m happy. That’s a positive reaction.

 

DARKWICCAN : We are here today, though, we’re here to talk about your epic wild west piece, “find a home, lonely heart”. Which I believe clocked in at something like two hundred and seventy plus thousand words?

 

AMY : Yes, it’s just under three hundred thousand words, completed. Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s like one and a half _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_ ’s.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : That’s too much writing. It’s so much writing.

 

DARKWICCAN : You know, honestly, I think that it would be just as interesting alongside the word count, if there were to be an approximate page count.

 

AMY : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : ‘Cause I think that, uh, a word count kinda feels like a little ephemeral, like you kinda go “ok, two hundred seventy thousand words. I mean that sounds like a lot, but that might…”

 

AMY : It’s very, like, it’s an intangible thing, isn’t it? When you can’t, like, tie it to something.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. Right. But yeah, if you were to say “oh, this is like seven hundred pages”, it’s like “woah!”.

 

AMY : That’s a lot.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, so, let’s dig into the meat and bones of this fic here. I, uh, I wanna know what came first: the setting or the storyline?

 

AMY : Um, they kind of actually went exactly hand in hand. So, the original idea was for like this kind of rough story, um, and it was set like in “ye old wild west”. Like it wasn’t like I had this idea and then decided to tie it to that period of time. It was a very specific, oddly niche idea that sort of, uum, like both of those things were really, really tied together. And, umm, yeah the original idea...do you want me to talk about that? Is it interesting?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah! Yeah!

 

AMY : Like what the...

 

DELAYNE : Why do you think we asked you?

 

AMY : [unintelligible dialogue] I don’t know, it might be boring, you might be like “I don’t care how, where, you know. I don’t care where the idea came from. It’s just cool that it’s there and we can read it.”

 

DELAYNE : Well, last time we talked to you, you hinted at that you had started it, and of course we’ve been on edge since then to ask you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : So, like, the original idea, I don’t even remember where it actually came from, but I had, you know, um, this thing sort of popped into your head as fic ideas do, and I had this image, this really clear mental image of Waverly in some sort of like old school, like botanist, um, kind of a healer, but not really, um, like that was the image that I had in my head. This really specific sort of, um, like quite visceral of her as a character, and how cool would it be to try and sort of frame a story around that and like in my head, the picture of the image, was that she was, she wasn’t in, um, like she didn’t exist in modernity. It wasn’t, like, you know, contemporary times, it was sort of some time in the past. And so when I sort of spun the idea out and I hit a little more, it was like “oh cool, well I haven’t written anything in that like wild west era. I’m sure that would sort of fit into that rough time frame”. And then when, cool, if that’s what Waverly’s doing, what’s Nicole doing. She could be like a lawwoman, that would be cool. And that sort of like in a very basic sense, that’s sort of where the story started, and it was actually the original premise for the fic was that it might be like a little one shot that might be, you know, a tiny little snapshot, these are what the characters are, this is sort of what they do. But I kind of had, um, like this image in my head of this is something that I want to have happen in the story. Like I had this idea of, you know, like Waverly turning up at Nicole’s bedroom door in the middle of the night and that came at the very beginning, and then once I sort of talked to Smurf about it, and I was like this is the idea. Suddenly around that it was quite clear at a very early stage, that if I wanted to do that, there are a couple of options. Like I could totally suspend belief and make it, um, so that this, ya know, random thing happens and don’t, sort of follow any sort of historical accuracy, or I could actually be a bit more considerate of the time and the period and build a bit more around it, and once I started thinking about that, it was very obvious that it couldn’t be as short of a fic as I wanted it to be, if I wanted to have that happen and happen accurately. And then things spun wildly out of control from there.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, as you say, you kind of had this initial idea for a short story, that you realized in order to give it the due that it really needed, uh, was gonna spin out and become a much longer story. Did you have an idea of the word count that you were gonna aim for when you started, or once you had made that decision that “ok, this can’t be short. This is definitely gonna be a plotted fic that’s gonna have a bit of worldbuilding built into it”. Did you, at that point, go “ok, I’m gonna shoot for this number of words” or was it more a matter of writing to satisfy the um, story, that you had in your head.

 

AMY : It was absolutely that. So, I sort of decided quite early on, once I had that initial story outline in my head, it was very much a “I will do this justice, and it doesn’t actually matter what the word count is as long as I don’t make a totally long or boring or anything like that”. It was very much a...ya know, I wasn’t gonna try and wrap it up in a certain word count, or I wasn’t gonna try and pull it out into a certain word count. It was whatever was going to work to satisfy the story, and to do it due diligence and to pay attention to all of that historical accuracy. That that would be what would drive the length of it, but to begin with, when I started writing, I was like “Ok, well, this isn’t gonna be like a ten thousand word fic, it might be twenty”. And then I wrote chapter one and I was like “cool, that’s like twenty eight thousand words”...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : ...and she’s just met Waverly for the first time, and um, she doesn’t know anything else about the town. It was like, “Ok, maybe I’ll write that up in like fifty thousand words”, and then I hit that milestone and I like “we’re not even a tenth of the way through this story”, and then I remember hitting a hundred thousand words and being “holy hell, how long is thing gonna be”. But then it was like, ya know, I had this outline that Smurf helped me put together because it was so, like that’s the thing that I’m not super good at. I’m like “here’s what I want to achieve”, but like consistency and making sure I do things in order is not a strength of mine, so that is like full credit to her because I couldn’t have done it without her. But it was very much like a these are the main points that I want to be able to cover in this story, and I’m just gonna take my time, it was like “ cool, I don’t have to just focus on Nicole and Waverly’s interactions”. It became quite, um, evident early on, I had to focus on other characters and like build Nicole’s relationship with other people in the town and give a bit more background about Waverly and her history and then also, ya know, not just skim past conversations. Because you could say, ya know, “Nicole went to the tailor and she had this conversation and then she left”. But actually, there was an importance in what the conversation was. I was like “ya know, by grit, I’ll just write the whole scene”, rather than just saying “here’s a line, actually here’s five hundred words that sort of outlines what actually happened”. And so, yeah, that was kind of, that’s what contributed to the length. Not being bothered about, ya know, how long it was gonna be. Because I was always like “ya know, I wanna write this for me and if it’s too long and if I don’t think people will read it, then that’s cool. I’ve still done something that I wanted to write and it’s awesome”. And it was just sort of like, “Oh well, it’s here now. It’s done. I may as well share it, somebody may want to read it”. Ya know, so it was like, that was the focus. I wanted to do justice to the story, rather than aim for word count that never in a million years did I think it would be as long as it was.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I think that you definitely did justice to this story. Absolutely.

 

AMY : Good. That’s good.

 

DARKWICCAN : The care that your, that you put into every single moment is just exquisite. It really is like you put together this most excellently and carefully and delicately curated story. A collection of individuals of this time and place. It’s so awesome, Amy, it’s just so awesome.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : Yay. A little happy yay. I’m glad. That’s...that’s, yeah. Because it was, I mean it was always a worry because I wanted to, from the beginning I wanted to write it in its completion before I shared, ya know, any sort of part of it. Um, because that’s just how I like to work. It’s nice to have the beginning and the end so that, ya know, if you need to change anything, it’s no big deal. You don’t have to, ya know, go back on something you’ve already sort of put out for people to read.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

AMY : But it’s a worry because at the end of it, I had this ridiculously huge story, and I was like “what if it’s dumb? Like, what if nobody likes it?”.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : And at the end of the day, I mean, ya know, that didn’t really matter because I enjoyed writing it, and it was a massive product for me and it’s a really cool thing, to know of myself, that I’ve done. That, ya know, that was...it was real scary. It was like “holy ya know, what if it sucks? What if nobody likes it?”.

 

DARKWICCAN : We like it. We really like it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : Good. That’s good. That’s a massive relief.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I wanna go back to what you mentioned about, um, ya know, it’s not just about Waverly and Nicole, and so fleshing out these other characters. Um, I like that none of the women in this story, are the stereotypical to any existing tropes, and you seem to take extra care with Chrissy, and we all know, we love some Chrissy in some fics. Um, but your depiction, um, ya know, she’s much more in the fic than on the show, so how was it important to you that you fleshed out her character?

 

AMY : Um, look, Chrissy was kind of like a wonderful accident in this fic to begin with because...

 

DELAYNE : Yay.

 

AMY : …yeah, she really was because obviously she’s got like a relatively small role, um, in the tv series, but when I sort of started writing, I kind of had this conundrum, of “ok, well Nicole’s new to town, she needs to meet somebody who’s like not one of the main characters, who sort of doesn’t have an attachment to like, um, to sort of the main story line. It needs to be somebody who can be quite neutral and a friend to her, but that also needs to be in the middle of the action”. So it was actually kind of perfect that she was there, and as a background character and to be able to go “cool, this actually might work”. And initially, I sort of thought she can be the first person that Nicole sort of speaks to when she comes into town. It was never, it was never, ever my intention to develop her as much as I did. It was just once I sort of started writing, I was like “man, this is…”. It was actually a gold mine, picking her because she could be so close to the action. I mean, she’s a cool, cool character anyway, but she could be so close to the action, and ya know, Nedley’s her father, and she, um, is, ya know, Waverly’s childhood friend. And she’s sort of, yeah, right in the middle of things, but she’s still, she could be this kind of impartial party for Nicole, as well. So, she hit some sort of, ya know, support outside of just her relationship with Waverly, so that she could, ya know, have these interactions with and confide in somebody that wasn’t Waverly about how she was feeling for her in a secret time appropriate manner, but it was, yeah, she was, once I sort of started writing her into things, um, it was quite important to flesh out her character and actually make her this like amazing person because all of the, um, ya know, the potential for it was there. Yeah, it was cool. Like it was a little bit of an honor to be able to sort of, um, flesh her out a bit more because, yeah, she’s an amazing character, and she fit so perfectly into everything. She was this perfect little, um, she was like the last puzzle piece that you might not have even known you needed, but once she’s in the middle of it, it was like she’s just like this intersection between so many different relationships. Yeah, she was, um, she’s been amazing. So, it was really important that I did her justice in the end, or, ya know, throughout the fic because she was so integral to so many different parts, even though she’s a really minor character in the show.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s always fun to be able to take a character that we don’t really know that well, that does exist in the canon and give them a whole greater life. Both an interior life and an exterior life that’s beyond what we know of them from the canon material, so...

 

AMY : Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And it is really cool because, um, ya know, you have an opportunity when you have somebody like that where you don’t know a lot about them. You kind of, you can take a few more liberties with who they are as a character, like obviously you have to be conscious of different things that you have from canon, but you don’t have such a strict, ya know, this is who they are and this is what they do, you can sort of have a bit more, not fun so much, but there’s more flexibility to sort of mold them to, in keeping with their characterization, a different kind of person, or like, um, ya know, engage them in different kind of interactions and conversations with people. So, yeah, that was cool. It was easier to do that with somebody like her, than if I’d taken somebody like, I don’t know, Dolls, for example. If I could have included him more in the story, it would have been slightly more difficult to weave him in and out of different conversations because he couldn’t have talked, perhaps, I don’t know. This might be a poor misconception on my part, but in those times somebody like Waverly was less likely to talk about, ya know, how she was feeling or who she thought she really was with somebody like him compared to somebody like Chrissy who was, has been closer to her for so many years.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. And speaking of characterizations, obviously this is a WayHaught story. The focus is on, I mean you do have a plot that is running through other than and beyond Waverly and Nicole, but really this is a WayHaught story and the focus is on them and their budding relationship. Now, despite the slow burn telling of their courtship, in reality these two women have only known each other for about a week.

 

AMY : Yes, they have. Yes, they have.

 

DARKWICCAN : Before they finally give into them. Give into their feelings for eachother. And I think that some readers forget that, it’s really not been that long in all honesty they’re moving at like a breakneck pace. It just feels like they’re not.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : Absolutely. Yep.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Did you find yourself having to remind yourself of the timeline while writing so that you didn’t get them together prematurely?

 

AMY : Constantly. It was a constant battle.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : Actually, this is again to Smurf’s credit. I’d write something, and she’d be like “you can’t write that, like they’ve known each other a day, like that’s not gonna happen”. And so, stuff like that though, it was really important because I needed to be reminded of that, and it wouldn’t have been like, ya know, at the end of it, I took so much care to be accurate about so many things, it would have totally compromised the integrity of that if I had done something like rush their physical relationship, for example. So it was incredibly important and it was something that was immensely hard to keep a handle on. And so like it’s hard because I totally, I get how frustrating it is for readers when you get that far into a fic and they haven’t even kissed or anything yet, but if we really think about it, realistically, the time period that they’re in, it’s beyond dangerous to have been who they were. It’s beyond dangerous to have been a woman full stop, let alone a woman who has an inclination, an attraction towards another woman. Like it’s just, um, ya know, it just, it’s a, it’s a massively big deal, and so it was really, really hard to keep a handle on, but it was so immensely important that I sort of took that into account. And when you actually think about it, like realistically, they probably wouldn’t have gotten together in a week, no matter how intense they’re, ya know, they’re connection was, ya know, in that time period, courtship lasted for months or years.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : So, like, ya know, even though, um, ya know, they get together at a certain point in the fic, if I really, really paid attention to the historical accuracy of that, it probably wouldn’t even have been in, but yes, it was, it was a constant challenge. I’d be like “I wanna do this” and Smurf would be like “let’s not do that, like you can’t do that. Here’s what we’re trying to achieve. This doesn’t achieve that” and I’d be like “Oh, ok. Ok, common sense. That’s fine.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : Ya know, an example of that was um...am I allowed to say like spoiler-y type things and presume that people have like read. This isn’t super spoiler-y, but spoiler alert if you haven’t read the beginning of the fic, mute the podcast or skip forward now. It’s not really a spoiler-y scene, but the scene sort of towards the beginning of the fic where they meet in the baths together, um, and they sort of have that little run in, and Nicole’s sort of there and she doesn’t expect to see Waverly and they have like a “oh my god, we’re both here and we’re both naked and we’re bathing and oh my god” ya know, it was just a really awkward “but we’re here and this is happening”. Initially, in my head I’d planned for that interaction to be a lot more like, not really sexualized, but like more overtly flirtatious, and sort of for them to be quite, not cheeky, but, ya know, more like that then being reserved. But then actually, um, ya know, when I thought about it, none of these things would be happening. They could sort of give each other the, ya know, odd shy glance, and all of that sort of thing, but ya know, it wouldn’t be that one of them would sort of get out in the middle of the bath and expose their beautiful naked body to the other one because it would have been so embarrassing for the other person, even though they had all their attraction and stuff. So, there were lots of times, where sort of, I had to, um, an idea about something that I wanted to initially do, but then actually, it was like “no, let’s just reel it back a bit. I’ll get there eventually, but, sort of, let’s be patient and let’s just pay a mind to what, ya know, I wanted to actually achieve with this”, and, um, and, I think that it’s, ya know, it’s a real slow burn. But hopefully it’s worth it in the end.

 

DARKWICCAN : I, I, ya know, I really think it is, and this kinda is gonna lead into what I think Delayne’s next question is, but the thing that I have to remind myself of, and I think readers in general have to remind themselves of when they’re reading this story, is that the relationship that Waverly and Nicole are pursuing with each other is incredibly dangerous.

 

AMY : Immensely dangerous. Like, yeah, it’s just such a good point. Like, we, in this time period, ya know, all of whom, the three of us in relationships with people as the same gender as us, presumably, and um, it’s, it can be dangerous for us now, but put yourself back in that time period. It’s just, ya know, beyond, beyond scary.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah. You could be, ya know, I think, you could be run out of town, you could be dragged behind a horse, I mean.

 

AMY : Yes, killed. Like murdered for it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Killed, yeah.

 

AMY : That would be a totally, I don’t think that would have been an uncommon reaction to people finding out that you were engaged with some sort of relationship with somebody of the same gender as you. I think that would have been a very normal, because, and this…

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yes.

 

AMY : ...was something that I discussed with Smurf as well, it was, um, there was an incredibly heightened sense of religion in those times and I think that’s where a lot of that, sort of, boils down to.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

AMY : Um, there was, ya know, a lot of fear attached to that, and, yeah, it wasn’t, it certainly wasn’t a friendly reception. No matter how lenient or, um, ya know, sort of, non-conservative that town might have been.

 

DELAYNE : Right? Some of the characters are like “uh…”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely.

 

DELAYNE : I mean, Chrissy alone was lovely. Um, DW. Your question sort of hits on mine in that I want to know how much research went into learning about women of the time who deviated from the gender norms?

 

AMY : Um, I can’t, honestly, I can’t claim a lot of credit for this. A lot of this was just Smurf’s knowledge. And that’s why, like, ya know, so much of me writing this fic was, I leaned on her knowledge so heavily for so many different parts of it. Because, ya know, I could have written this all by myself, but it would have taken me twice as long because I would have constantly have been having to research into these different things and, ya know, “what was this person like, did they have a bath in the house or did they have public baths?” All of that sort of stuff, she just knew off the top of her head, and it saved me so much time. Um, but, I can’t, I can claim very little, in regard of that kind of research, because so much of it was just picking her brain for so many different things. I did a little bit, but it was mainly like, um, it was, yeah, she’s just a library of all that sort of...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : And it was, it was really good because it was important, ya know, it was important to know what kind of, um, ya know, if there were any, ya know, um, women in history that sort of were in these types of roles or was it something that is totally fiction, did it not actually exist at all. And, yeah, it was, it was a cool sort of thing to learn about. I mean the whole learning about that whole time period as i was writing this was so fascinating, it was so cool to have, um...because I didn’t have, ya know, I’ve watched a couple western movies.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : Like, it’s not an area that I have a great passion for, or I didn’t have one to begin with. It’s not like I have all this sort of prior knowledge sitting there. I had this random idea, and I was like “well, that’s cool. Let’s see if I can write this.” But I didn’t have, ya know, it’s not something I had a whole lot of info sitting in my head for, so, um, yes. I thank her wholeheartedly for allowing me to tap into that knowledge. Um, and yeah, that’s, um, that helped me so much. I can’t even put into words.

 

DELAYNE : We know those old movie westerns were, ya know, super historically accurate. [laughter]

 

AMY : Right, I know. It’s a disclaimer, right. [laughter] But, um, yeah. That was the really cool thing, was getting to learn what it was actually like back then and how people sort of lived and what kind of attractions people had and, um, it was. Yeah, it was a big learning curve, but it was cool. It was really, really cool.

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause you wrote a lot of strong, badass women in this fic, and, of course, that’s what I love about it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

AMY : I think that’s the coolest thing about anything, though, right? Like there are strong, badass women in every facet of our lives that we just don’t, ya know, they fight their own battles and we never hear about it. It was so cool to be able to represent, not a, um, ya know, these are never gonna be literal representations of women that I know or anything like that, but it was kind of, and being able to write these really strong female characters, it’s kind of like an ode to all of those people that exist around us in our everyday lives that fight these amazing battles and that do all this cool stuff and they’re just sort of, um, ya know, they never get that like tip of the hat to them, and in a really weird way, it was just yeah, this is like a cool, actually these women exist everywhere. Um, and how amazing is it and how much of a privilege is it to get to write something where you get to showcase all of these types of characters, who, ya know, they are there in every story, even if the narrative is more focused around a male lead, or something like that. Ya know, if you dig deeper into, you can dig deeper into anything I’m sure. Any movie, or book, or whatever. Um, these women are there, they’re just hidden from that main narrative so often, and it was amazing to get to bring them all to the forefront, um, and showcase how kickass they were.

 

DARKWICCAN : And not only that, but showcasing a, um, woman loving woman relationship of that era because we’ve always been here.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : Exactly. Exactly. We’ve always been here, ya know, in spite of the fact that those sorts of things are largely wiped from the history pages. It’s not like, ya know, women loving women relationships just materialized out of thin air in the seventies or the eighties or something. We’ve always been here. These relationships have always been here. And it’s so cool, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Those old maids that live together, that, ya know, help each other out. Yeah.

 

AMY : Yeah, yeah. Those old women that never married and shared a room together because they didn’t have another room in their house and...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : ...had a lot of cats. No, but ya know, yeah, but that is the cool thing. And honestly that was actually one of the other things that motivated me to write this in the first place. I was like “I don’t, I’ve never seen another, uh, this is just me personally, I’m sure they are out here, but I have never stumbled across a fic like this in this fandom or some of the others that I’ve sort of been apart of. Um, where it’s a woman loving woman relationship at the forefront of it. And how cool would it get to be to write that in this time period and this era and with all of this other stuff going on”. So, yeah, it was cool. It was really cool.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] Well, Amy, this has been so much fun having you back on the show, thank you so much.

 

AMY : It’s been so much fun being here.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

AMY : Thank you for having me back. Thank you for having me back. It’s always a blast. You guys are a pleasure to chat to.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I didn’t even tell you that I loved you, this time. [laughter]

 

AMY : Hey, there you go. Include that, please include that in the final cut. [laughter] The final cut. We got an “I love you” before...

 

DELAYNE : I did a re-listen, and I swear there’s three separate times where I’m just like “I love you”. [laughter]

 

AMY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

AMY : Box check. Get Delayne to say she loves me at some point in the podcast. Done.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, well, unfortunately, we have run out of time, so that means we do have our final question that we need to ask you, and it’s not the same as what we asked you last time because you already told us.

 

AMY : Oooh.

 

DARKWICCAN : You already told us what your desert island fic is, so that’s off.

 

DELAYNE : And you don’t get two options.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nope.

 

DELAYNE : I’m sure everyone wants, like “hey I can bring more”. No.

 

DARKWICCAN : So that...

 

AMY : You get one option. It’s a desert island. You get one option.

 

DARKWICCAN : You get one option, yeah. So, instead of that question for today, we have this: what genre of fic have not yet written in that you would like to try your hand at?

 

AMY : Ooh, that’s a tricky question. That’s a really tricky question. I don’t know the answer, is my answer.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : Because, look, like I’ve, not so much in the _Wynonna Earp_ and the WayHaught fandom, I’ve tended to stick to certain genres, but in some of my other fandoms, I’ve written some real random AU stuff. So, I’ve covered like, I’ve written a lot, because, and the reason for that is AU stuff fascinates me. I love writing it. I think it’s a real pleasure, it’s a challenge as an author to have these characters and to protect the characterization when you dump them in a totally different environment. And it’s a real, I think it’s a, it’s a challenge because it’s kind of an art, like you have pick a genre that these people actually fit into and then you have to nurture who their character is in canon, but tweak it slightly so that it fits into the genre that they’re in now, and it’s a tricky thing to do. It’s a really tricky thing to do, and I don’t know if I do it well, or perfectly every time, but it’s, um, it’s something that I always enjoy doing. So, I don’t know. What’s a genre that I’d like to write for?

 

DARKWICCAN : Space opera?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : [laughter] Probably not a space opera.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

AMY : Probably not a space opera. Oooh. What else is there? I mean, I always…

 

DELAYNE : High fantasy.

 

AMY : Yeah, maybe. Maybe. I mean, it would be really cool. I’ve always sort of wanted to write like a, almost like a crime. I very briefly did sort of a really baby crime type fic in one of my old fandoms. And it was like a Romeo-Juliet type situation where these two war and crime families. It’s very obscure, look it up.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

AMY : I’ll send you the link later, but something like that would be really cool. I enjoyed that. Writing some sort of, like, proper crime genre.

 

DARKWICCAN : Like a noir?

 

AMY : With lots of angst. Lots of angst. Yes. Like some sort of film noir type of thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, you would be amazing writing a film noir. Just your aesthetic.

 

DELAYNE : Oh. Yes!

 

DARKWICCAN : You would be brilliant.

 

DELAYNE : That...

 

AMY : Maybe I will. You might have just sparked something there, team. Maybe I’ll...back to the drawing board.

 

DELAYNE : That is a brilliant match up. I wholeheartedly support this.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, with that, we’re gonna let you go so that you can get right down to working on your new epic film noir.

 

AMY : Oh, good. Watch this space.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

AMY : Right now! Leave right now! Write these ideas down.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Maddigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that's it for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for tuning in. Huge thanks to Amy, aka tigerlo, for joining us to talk about her epic wild west fic. Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, Launch by Kan R Gao featuring Laura Shigihara, A Cowboy Reborn by Bytheway-May, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	4. Wrench in the Works

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DW and Delayne sit down to chat about the unique fic 'Punch & Rivet' by DreadPirateBrown!

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/wrench-in-the-works)

 

Read the Fic!

'[Punch & Rivet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14750847)' by DreadPirateBrown

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

DreadPirateBrown's Desert Island Fic: '[Wishin and Hopin](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12713403)' by Bootsncatz

 

Transcript by ACalamityofJanes

 

EFA Episode 204: Wrench in the Works

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

DARKWICCAN: Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me revving her engines is my delightful co-host...

DELAYNE: Hey, it’s Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: And this week we are very excited to be taking on the one-of-a-kind fic, by the one-of-a-kind author DreadPirateBrown:  _ Punch & Rivet _ .

DELAYNE: This is very exciting.

DARKWICCAN: This is very exciting.  This is honestly one of the most unique fics I have ever read, and it’s written so well.

DELAYNE: Ah, yes, and definitely a very interesting storyline.

DARKWICCAN: Oh, very interesting.  Almost out of left field interesting quite honestly.  Well first of all DreadPirateBrown tapped into the whole motorcycle Haught idea, took that notion and just ran with it.

DELAYNE: Biker Haught, I am here for it. [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Absolutely, yeah, and such an easy image to bring to mind too, just very believable.

DELAYNE: Isn’t there an artwork?

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, Diana Benitez did a fantastic artwork of biker Haught.  

DELAYNE: That’s exactly what comes to mind.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah just “zip” right to the forefront, tapping that vein with great aplomb and did that well, so already it’s like, “oh, biker Haught? I’m invested.  What’s going on? What’s happening? Hmm? What? Where?” But another thing about this fic that makes it so very unique is the fact that biker Haught is a trans dude.

DELAYNE: Yep, goes by Nico.

DARKWICCAN: Nico Haught, yes.  And Nico is a really cool, very sweet guy, very much keeping in line with the Haught that we know from the series.  The difference is that, in the case of the series, we have Haught who is a police officer, or deputy sheriff. And in the case of this story Haught, or Nico, is a former EMT who is currently on a cross country trip on his bike to kind of get away from a very negative relationship that he was in.  Basically he needed an escape. He’s divorced now, and I will say that the ex-wife in this story, I can’t remember if her name was Shae or not in this story?

DELAYNE: It was Shae.

DARKWICCAN: It is Shae, yes.  But very not the Shae from canon.

DELAYNE: No.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, bit of a horror story for Nico here and so he has decided to take this cross country motorcycle trip and of course finds himself in Purgatory.  Now for the purposes of this story Purgatory is actually in Washington State which I’m okay with, because I live in Washington State and it’s awesome here. 

DELAYNE: And I recognise the scenery because my wife is from Washington and Oregon, she’s from both, it’s possible, trust me.  So the scenery as it’s described, I can picture it, and it’s fantastic and I love seeing fics that take place in places that I know.

DARKWICCAN: Oh yeah, when it’s really easy to picture the world that the stories taking place in because, “oh man, I’ve been to places that look like that, I totally know what they’re going for.”  It just makes it that much more vivid, and let me tell you, DreadPirateBrown’s writing is vivid, and so beautiful. He has such a facility with language, and he really doesn’t shy away from description, which is nice because you really do sink into the story along with his descriptions. 

DELAYNE: So I really like how we start out this fic, it’s a smashingly good introduction scene.

DARKWICCAN: Wayhey!  B’dum ting.

DELAYNE: I thought you’d like that.

DARKWICCAN: I might add a rim shot sound effect there.  Just to savor it.

DELAYNE: Right so, so Nico pulls up, he decides, “okay we’ll stop for gas and maybe a bite to eat.”  Goes and parks in front of the bar and of course Wynonna’s there. [laughter] Automatically Wynonna’s giving him shit, and it’s great.  And then out bursts Waverly and Champ, fighting. And we get to see feisty Waverly telling Champ to shove it which is always a good scene.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, that’s always enjoyable.  Never not enjoyable to watch Waverly lose her shit on Champ Hardy.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Agreed.  And so Champ speeds off in his truck except he was in reverse at first and totally took out Nico’s bike.

DARKWICCAN: Oh man, that hurt.  I don’t ride a motorcycle but I’ve got friends who do, I know your wife rides motorcycles.  Just knowing how bad it is when a bike gets knocked over. And in this case it gets hit, and knocked over, it’s just like [whispers] shudder.

DELAYNE: Yeah, and just how pissed my wife was when she tipped over her bike and it was her own damn fault and then the handlebar is a little bent.   Just that amount of anger at what happened to her poor bike, even though it was her own fault. [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Right, so suffice it to say if a bike gets knocked over it’s bad.  Sorry, basically that traps Nico in Purgatory.

DELAYNE: Right.

DARKWICCAN: So Purgatory’s living up to its name.

DELAYNE: [laughter] He shows up planning to stop briefly and he gets stuck because his bike is taken out.

DARKWICCAN: Right.  Exactly. And interestingly, although he’s immediately taken with Waverly, he’s super careful and he’s charming, he’s his charming self, but he’s also thinking, “I’m only gonna be here a few days, as long as it takes to get my bike back in order and then I’m hitting the road and I’m gone.”  And he is in a backwater town, he doesn’t know the politics, so he’s having to be very careful. He has to assume, for his own safety, that revealing the fact that he’s a trans dude could really be dangerous. So even though Waverly is literally coming at him, well figuratively coming at him, guns ablazing, he has to keep kind of shoving her down, well not shoving her down, but you know like...

DELAYNE: Pausing.

DARKWICCAN: Pausing.  And there are things that he physically can’t do spontaneously and so...

DELAYNE: And so she thinks she’s being rejected.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, Waverly thinks that he is totally, and completely, uninterested  in her [laughter] which is the exact opposite of the case. But when Waverly gets rejected, or feels like she’s being rejected, phew, she’s got a little ‘tude.

DELAYNE: [laughter]  Icy, I think is the word for it, described in the fic.

DARKWICCAN: Totally, totally.  So now Nico is like, “oh jeez, now I’ve got to… phew.”  So now he’s gotta figure out how to tell Waverly his truth without it all blowing up in his face, and there’s never any guarantee that it’s not going to all blow up in his face.  But he ultimately manages… you go ahead.

DELAYNE: Well, he gets a little bit of a….

DARKWICCAN: A nudge.

DELAYNE: A nudge, yeah, that’s the word I’m groping for.  He gets a nudge from Jeremy.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm

DELAYNE: Because Jeremy is observant, and also a scientist, and does recycling when he takes out the trash [laughter].

DARKWICCAN: Suffice it to say he found some evidence of Nico’s medical needs in the wastebasket.

DELAYNE: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: And he’s like… and just because he’s Jeremy he’s like, “yeah I ran some tests on it.”

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: “So I know what it is, and it’s okay, and don’t assume that Waverly’s not going to be okay.”

DELAYNE: Yeah.

DARKWICCAN: “Just tell her, it’ll be cool, it’ll be fine.”  And so based on that encouragement from Jeremy, Nico…. [laughter] I almost said girds his loins.  

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Let me change that to Nico drums up the courage to come out to Waverly.  So they have this lovely little picnic where he explains the situation, and at first Waverly’s shocked, wasn’t expecting it at all.

DELAYNE: “I thought you were going to tell me you were in a cult, or a werewolf or something.”

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] That cracked me up so hard!  Considering all the werewolf fics out there, I laughed quite loud when I read that.

DELAYNE: Was that one of the one’s where you were reading on the train and had everyone staring at you?

DARKWICCAN: Um, was it?  Probably, most likely, it was a while ago.  Yeah um, so, he comes out and Waverly’s like, “gulp, okay, what?” and then she’s like “okay”.

DELAYNE: Okay

DARKWICCAN: “Okay, you’re still you.”  And thus begins the portion of the story for which the explicit rating is earned. 

DELAYNE: [laughter] Yes.

DARKWICCAN: Basically Waverly has been wanting to jump Nico from the beginning essentially, and now that she has the all clear she wastes no time.  Ladies and gentlemen and gentle-enbys and others, this is an explicit fic! But it’s not vulgar.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Right, it’s just... sex, a lot of sex.

DARKWICCAN: The thirst is real.

DELAYNE: Very thirsty Waverly.

DARKWICCAN: Very thirsty, and Nico is doing everything in his power to quench that thirst.

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So after a delightful multi-chapter romp we start to dig into the real plot that is driving this story forward, so the Wynonna Earp gang, I don’t know what else to call it, the Earp gang.

DELAYNE: Hey, it’s Wynonna’s town, it’s her bar, it’s her gang, so yes.

DARKWICCAN: Is in a long-standing feud with Constance Clootie and her pharmaceutical company.  Okay, I know it sounds weird but it actually makes a lot of sense when you read the story.

DELAYNE: When you put it like that it sounds bizarre, no, it’s a very intriguing storyline, and like you said it works and is very interesting how the feud started and what’s going on.  But you have to read to learn all that.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, essentially what’s going on is Clootie represents Big Pharma and Pharma trying to make money off of patients and ultimately trying to cull poorer patients out of the equation leaving wealthy patients behind.  So that’s pretty evil, yup yup. And so what the Wynonna Earp gang have been endeavoring to do, with the help of Jeremy and Rosita as scientists and chemists, is to come up with medicines that can treat issues that the poorer folk of the surrounding area deal with on a regular basis but also to counteract whatever it is that Clootie’s goons have been doling out.  And when we get a very clear picture of what, and how, Clootie has planned it’s very bad. I mean really bad. Our guys are definitely the white hats in this situation, as if there was ever a question of that, but it is made very very clear and there’s a lot of danger involved. The most recent chapter that posted is chapter ten, and of course this may not be the case by the time this episode airs, but at the time of the recording of this episode chapter ten had just been posted, it ended on a pretty intense cliffhanger.  The kind where you are just sitting there with your jaw in your lap and you’re just like, “let me get my hands under it and shove my jaw back up to my teeth.” Because I got to the end of the chapter and I was like, “oh, whaaaat??” And again, DreadPirateBrown with the imagery, it’s such a vivid, visceral image you’re just left going, “are my socks still on? Or were they knocked off?”

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So that’s essentially, you know, in a nutshell the arc of the story so far.

DELAYNE: Very big, exciting, you know...

DARKWICCAN: Oh yeah, it’s intense, Clootie has characters that we would… I think they’re actually called the Revenant Gang, or something like that.  But Red is there, and he’s an asshole as usual. Levi and Fish are there, and I don’t want to give away what their involvement is, but they’re there.  You have to read to find out. But there are other characters from the Wynonna Earp universe around, including ones who cause havoc in a less global way than the Clootie group do.  I think Delayne you know who I’m talking about.

DELAYNE: I do, because Stephanie Jones makes a very, very small appearance but it’s just before Nico has the talk with Waverly, so Waverly’s still in her icy mode… [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Yes, yes.

DELAYNE: But seeing Stephanie flirt [laughter] with Nico...

DARKWICCAN: Like, blatantly flirt, the kind of flirtation where you just go, “oh my god, does this woman have no pride?”

DELAYNE: And of course you see Waverly bristle, and there’s no pie throwing like in the Jolene episode but we do enjoy just a wee bit of jealous Waverly.

DARKWICCAN: And you know, jealous Waverly is always so much fun.  I mean it’s one of those things where you feel bad for her, that these emotions are being brought out but at the same time she’s just so fiesty, it’s just so much fun to watch her get jealous and kinda lash out.

DELAYNE: You know who we also see, in sort of a minor role, we do see Chrissy and of course Chrissy is a very good friend.  And I do like, “wait a minute, I thought you weren’t talking to him anymore!” [laughter] 

DARKWICCAN: Yes, yeah I love that, cause wasn’t Chrissy first of all pushing Waverly to Nico like, “you should totally go for it, just dive in.”

DELAYNE: “If you don’t want him I’ll take him!”

DARKWICCAN: And then that blows up in her face and so then Waverly is like, “I’m never going to talk to him again, I’m not even going to try” and then they come back after she and Nico have had the conversation and they’re beelining it straight for the bedroom upstairs and Chrissy is like, “wait a second, what is going on here?”

DELAYNE: “I’m your best friend, you haven’t told me about this latest update yet.”  Like, “I’ll get back to you…I’m busy.”

DARKWICCAN: “Let me get back to you, I’ll get back to you on that…”  Yes, but another element to this story that I find kind of fun is that in Washington State enjoying of the cannabis is legal, recreationally or otherwise, and so Nico does partake of the leafy greens.

DELAYNE: Yes ma’am.

DARKWICCAN: And so quite frequently he is, he and the group, are getting high.  At one point he and Waverly drive into Seattle and Nico asks if he can stop at a pot shop and while they’re there he picks up a, I don’t know what they’re actually called and I haven’t pulled up the chapter again,  it’s basically a cannagar, like a cannabis cigar, it’s a giant joint. Cheech and Chong, up in smoke, maybe not that big. But you know, it’s cigar sized, it’s a healthy amount. So he gets that as a gift for Wynonna.  And she is grateful.

DELAYNE: Right, get your cigar clippers, we’re lighting this puppy up right now.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] And I know it sounds weird, it might sound totally weird, but to me there is something so wholesome about this group just sitting around, smoking a cannagar, high off their minds, just being a family together.  For some reason I find that very wholesome, I find it more wholesome than sitting around getting shit-faced drunk. Probably because when you’re stoned things are funnier, depending on the strain you are enjoying at the time.

DELAYNE: Or the room is spinning and you can’t get up from your camp chair...

DARKWICCAN: Oh is that your experience?

DELAYNE: And you have to have your wife take you to bed.  But everyone else cannot look at your wife because they can’t stop laughing.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, my experience with weed is unique-ish in that when I was going through chemotherapy for cancer, many years ago now thankfully, the only way I could eat was to get the munchies, and it also helped with pain level because I was in a lot of pain all the time.  So that was the only time in my life that I’ve regularly, or even recreationally, used marijuana, and I vaped it, I didn’t smoke it, one cancer’s enough, I didn’t need a secondary type of cancer. So now, the thought of using it recreationally, unfortunately for me, brings up negative memories of why I had to use it.  So it’s not enticing, the idea of getting high again. But I begrudge nobody who takes pleasure in it because there were days when I was stoned out of my mind watching Sesame St while my wife was at work, giggling maniacally, eating doritos and that was fun!

DELAYNE: Sounds adorable.  I definitely don’t have anywhere near of a similar experience but I, you know the anti-drug commercial… the deflated girl on the couch?

DARKWICCAN: No, I don’t know that. [laughter]

DELAYNE: So the anti-drug commercial was: don’t smoke pot, you’ll be this deflated girl on the couch, you won’t do anything.  Was what they’re trying to portray. Cannabis is a great medicine for many people, for me I am the deflated girl on the couch.  It has the same effect that the xanax had on my anxiety, there was a reason I wasn’t anxious, it’s because I was asleep!

DARKWICCAN: [laughter]

DELAYNE: So I don’t regularly partake either, but definitely do not begrudge anyone.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, yeah, whatever’s clever right?  As long as you’re not hurting anybody.

DELAYNE: I definitely wasn’t hurting anyone,I couldn’t move!

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, you were deflated on the couch.  But yeah, so I mean, it’s one of those interesting things where here we have this story, it’s definitely sex, drugs and rock and roll.  Right? It really is.

DELAYNE: Motorbikes!

DARKWICCAN: Yes, and motorcycles, I kind of factor that into the rock and roll part.  But you have these individuals you are taking part in what could be considered, or is socially considered bad behaviour, when really they are the sweetest, most loving, most morally conscious characters in this world.  Yeah, I just kind of love that, lets take these ideas that we generally equate with poor behavior and give it to these people who are actually, and this is probably true for, you know, it’s probably more true in reality than not.  Social norms are a pain in the ass.

DELAYNE: Right?  But even Nico’s back story with his dad in a motorcycle club when they took him in and taught him things and took care of him as a kid, so the best group of guys that someone could be parented by is a motorcycle club, essentially.  So take that social norms! [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Well, I think that you and I have waxed philosophical as much as we can without being high anyway and...

DELAYNE: [laughter] That’s what we’re doing wrong...

DARKWICCAN: That’s what we’re doing wrong!  We should have embraced the scenario.

DELAYNE: A little whiskey.

DARKWICCAN: A cannagar.  Yeah. But I think we’ve covered what we can and what’s left is for us is to talk to DreadPirateBrown.

DELAYNE: I think we should definitely talk to DreadPirateBrown.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, say that ten times fast!  We could probably just say DPB, how about that?

DELAYNE: I’d probably stumble over that as well.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, because there’s a lot more that I want to talk about but I feel like we need to involve him in the conversation.

DELAYNE: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: Absolutely So, why don’t we go ahead and start segwaying into that, of course before we do head into our second segment where we talk to DreadPirateBrown, we need to introduce [CONTENT CENSORED - VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

  
  
  


DARKWICCAN: Hey everybody and welcome back to this episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.   I am your host DarkWiccan, and with me in her very best motorcycle leathers is my co-host...

DELAYNE: Delayne!

DARKWICCAN: And we are super excited to be here with the author of the work we were discussing before the break, the fantastic motorcycle AU  _ Punch & Rivet _ .  The author, of course DreadPirateBrown, do you want us to call you DreadPirateBrown today or is there something else you want us to call you?

DREAD: Pirate’s fine, Dread’s fine, I don’t… the whole kit'n'caboodle, it’s up to you guys.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, how about we call you Dread, how about that?

DELAYNE: Dread, we’ve already got a Pirate so...

DARKWICCAN: So Dread welcome to the show.

DREAD: Thank you thank you, it’s kind of ridiculous to be here, I don’t know… I feel like I should pull out something like they would say from the fifties, something snappy intro-y, but thank you guys for having me.

DARKWICCAN: Thank you so much for coming on, it was so much fun having you on the panel at EhCon and it’s great to be able to corner you to talk about just this one story.

DREAD: Yeah, thank you, no the panel was fantastic

DELAYNE: The panel was amazing.

DARKWICCAN: We missed you though, Delayne.

DELAYNE: And I had to watch it from afar.

DREAD: (inaudible) forever though, you can visit us anytime you want.

DELAYNE: That is true, go check out the panel if you haven’t already.  But back to Dread here.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, but back to Dread specifically.  So, you haven’t really been involved in this fandom very long

DREAD: No, I hadn’t actually done anything fandom-y, god, for a couple of years until about January.  But I found Wynonna Earp I think in March I decided to actually give it a shot, and then went to a meet up of New York Earpers somewhere thereafter, but I didn’t start writing  _ Punch & Rivet _ until the end of May.  So it’s been a very short amount of time for very ridiculous things to happen.

DARKWICCAN: It’s been a whirlwind for ya.

DREAD: Yes, I went from being, to be quite honest, like a kid that was getting out of a terrible relationship and felt really fucked...  well, really alone. And then I found the show and started writing and people were like, “hey this is really okay, you should do this more” and I was like “alright” and then you and I started talking and all of a sudden I’ve got a passport and I’m in Canada.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] 

DREAD: I don’t know, I don’t know, it was very very cool, like the neatest short volume comic book ever.  Like my training montage is me trying to get my passport, then I’m on the plane, finally touch down in Canada, it smells like maple syrup, no I’m kidding it doesn’t.

DARKWICCAN: No no it smells like vanilla dipped donuts.

DREAD: [laughter] ha ha right, ah yes.

DARKWICCAN: So was it a shock to you that  _ Punch & Rivet _ hit the ground running as it did and attracted such positive attention right away?

DREAD: Um, yes, it still blows my mind. Every time I think about it or I get a comment that... like I live for the comments that, though they’ve been more recent than the earlier ones, they’ll be like, “oh I had, I wasn’t sure about this, I didn’t know what it was going to be like, I wasn’t sure if I would like the character this way” and then they’re like, “oh my god I actually did!” And I love those comments.  But in the beginning it was very much, any time you get a comment as a writer, or as an anybody, positive feedback is kind of incredible.

DARKWICCAN: It’s a very good feeling.

DREAD: It’s good for our brains and reminds us that perhaps the things that we like doing other people also enjoy us doing.  And that’s kind of cool. But no, it was incredible just to take the chance on doing that to, not “doing that to,” but you know to (inaudible) the way an audience would experience Nicole. In a pretty drastic way that could be kind of gut-check-y for some people, who might not appreciate that happening to someone they identify with so strongly or is so beloved to them.  But yeah the feedback was just… you know I’d put a chapter up at three in the morning because I’m ridiculous and I would wake up for work and have a couple of comments and I would go into work smiling all day. It was kind of awesome, but no it’s been great, it really has, you know and just hearing from folks in general is fantastic. 

DELAYNE: I have a very, very important question.  What the hell is a punch & rivet?

DREAD: Okay, so, when I originally thought of this whole thing I had been listening to Kat’s interview when she… I think it was her first Haught interview ever, where she was talking about doing apprentice leatherworking for the hell of it, and really enjoying it and that’s where my head was going originally, that the leatherworking was going to be much more important to the storyline.  So when I was thinking of naming it, you know, I can’t put it up, this first chapter, without a name like, “I need a name okay, leather working?” Cause the punch was a leather punch, like you would use to make a hole in leather, and a rivet is the mechanism you would use then to put two pieces of leather together, and I don’t know it could probably go on a very deep spiritual hole about how that also means the joining of these two characters, I don’t know.  It was really supposed to be part of Nico’s, kind of, whole shtick but the shtick kind of got lost and the whole entire Earp just world took over.

DARKWICCAN: As they do.

DREAD: (Inaudible) And then he was tied to a chair and I was like well, um, leather working is really not going to help you here buddy so we’ll have to write about something else.  I have a one-shot in mind where I kind of get back to that, that I haven’t written but it’s just floating around my brain, you know, very very vaguely, cause I do want to see that part of that, his background, and obviously it was so important to him for so long, his tattoo and all of that good stuff.  But yeah, to tell the main story it kind of got lost in the ether somewhere. It wasn’t really my uh, it wasn’t my play but that’s where we went. They’d kind of all taken over at that point and decided, “okay nope this is the story we wanna tell and if you want to run along with us then that’s alright.”

DARKWICCAN: So as you mentioned earlier, this is a leap that you’ve taken with the Haught character, transitioning their character into a trans man or trans dude and he calls himself Nico and he’s just an awesome coolest dude like ever.  I love Nico so much, and I think it’s because you have really successfully kept the core, the emotional and moral core of officer Haught from the show and really done a great job of keeping that within Nico here. What was most important to you in how you told Nico’s story?

DREAD: I think that for sure was the thing I brought myself back to the most, is just making sure that no matter what, you know, Nico didn’t end up like this… I don’t even know how to put it, like trans-model-wonder-boy-perfect-boyfriend-creature? 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, yeah.

DREAD: Not airhead, but like some sort of created fluff piece, you know, infallible, you know, like boring kind of thing, but just that everything that Nico did would be something that Nicole would do. That all of those deep down bits of him are her because they are, but you know just in an alternate universe where we get to play with things a little bit.  But definitely having Nicole at the heart of him was the first thing right off the bat. But also that he’s not everyone, there is no universal trans experience, obviously I only have mine to write from from my own head. You know I’m not a trans person of color. I grew up in the United States. I will always be pasty pale. There are experiences I don’t know and I wasn’t going to try to make Nico universal in that way just because....  Obviously those stories deserve to be told just as much, I can’t do that. But I also wanted him to be accessible enough that anybody picking up the fic could understand his motivations and understand his hesitations and understand maybe why he makes the choices he makes in the beginning where he is far more hesitant to be open with Waverly or put fixing Talulah in jeopardy, or running afoul of Wynonna or Dolls or whoever. But I did want to make sure that folks could really see him for himself and not sort of have Nicole in their head and squint at the pronouns when they’re reading.  I wanted him to also be his own person, that folks could, you know, see for himself. 

DELAYNE: I’m sitting back here nodding, that sounds great. I think you’ve done an incredible job in doing exactly what you just said there.  So what is it about either Nico, or the Earp crew, or both that allowed the gang to take him in so quickly, do you see that reflected in the canon?

DREAD: I really do, but I like to think that when I started this that in my head I made the world as if a lot of the hesitancies of all the characters from earlier, from canon seasons, sort of they’d already been dealt with, in part.  You know, that Wynonna wasn’t quite so oblivious, and Doc isn’t constantly checking himself about whether or not he likes these people or if he’s in the team or if he’s trustworthy, or if he’s gonna do the right thing or you know, whatever.  They’re this cohesive sort of little family that had already been in existence for a while and Jeremy was already in the mix and Rosita and Chrissy and they had their thing and it had been their thing for a while. So in that way I think I wanted to take into account how quickly, even in canon, Wynonna takes to Nicole.  I was actually watching it earlier just to make sure I got my facts right here but the third time we see Wynonna and Nicole talking is the night they get drunk together in the office, so clearly there’s some bondage pretty fast, well oh god that’s a terrible--

DELAYNE and DARKWICCAN: [Raucous laughter] 

DARKWICCAN: That’s a different story, that’s a whole ‘nother story.

DELAYNE: Bonding is what you’re looking for.

DREAD: As far as I know that one has not been written.  I mean not by me, goodness.

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DREAD: Um, hmm, anyway, there’s trust that’s built between the two of them very fast, there we go, ahem.

DARKWICCAN: Nice recovery.

DREAD: Right, so I think, you know, I think that and the fact that, as in canon, Wynonna doesn’t really like Champ, so I think off the bat, Champ being an absolute dick, kind of takes pity on him and is like, “oh great, this kid who I didn’t like anyway and has been sleeping with my sister, trashed this poor dudes bike for no reason and, you know, he went and beat the crap out of himself and now he’s bleeding all over my bar and well, whatever, alright, another stray.”   Because, you know, they collect people, Rosita comes along and she gets collected, and well Chrissy disappeared forever but maybe she’ll be back some day. I don’t know, she’s off living in Wynonna’s timeshare in Greece or something, who knows. 

DELAYNE: [Laughter] Wynonna’s timeshare, I’m sorry 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, you absolutely have set it up that the Earp group, the Earp gang, do collect strays absolutely.  I think all of the people they have in their found family could be considered a found stray in some way or another.  And I think that does carry over from the show absolutely.

DREAD: Yeah, I also like that, you know, being queer in this day and age found family is obviously still very, very important, and to have Nico stumble across that, you know, wherever he was, wherever he was going, ultimately his intention was to find a place to fit in.  So I think he probably went into it very open about whatever could happen, and I think, you know I mean, we see in the show how much Wynonna and Nicole end up growing together as family really so I think Wynonna taking to Nico so quickly just sorta fits. And I think also it amuses her to no end how much she can sort of make him squirm about Waverly.  Because she’s still an older sister and who knows, maybe Wynonna thinks he’s cute, I have no idea.

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So in addition to the found family storyline and the Wayhaught romance you have a very intricately plotted storyline involving Constance Clootie and her pharmaceutical company, Bulshar Pharmaceuticals.  So I have to ask, did the Bulshar storyline take shape before you started writing or was it something that sort of developed and gained steam as you went along? 

DREAD: It was very much me getting a couple of chapters in and going, “okay so they’re all here but, um, why?”  

DARKWICCAN and DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DREAD: So, you know, I mean I knew it was going to be something… obviously there had to be a fight between her and the Earps. There had to be something that killed off Ward. There had to be something that, you know, Willa wasn’t around anymore.  There had to be something that Waverly and Wynonna were up against and had been. You know I enjoy that part of their characters, that they get all these crazy things thrown at them and kind of brush them off and keep going so I wanted to keep that aspect of the show, and I’ve never really written kind of crazy action stuff so I was like, “what the heck, why not, let’s see what happens if I make Constance Clootie like,” you know…  I mean now that I’m thinking about it all I can think of is the dude from Die Hard, you know, up in the tower like “Mwahaha”. 

DARKWICCAN and DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DREAD: You know just to see what would be a slightly realistic-ish evil thing you could do in this day and age without supernatural demons and stuff.  So I thought okay, I stuck Purgatory outside of Seattle, like okay what would that look like? Because you know it’s Canadian-Americana-ish, in that, it’s not like I (inaudible) or something.  It’s a lot closer to that vague area where Purgatory might be. So what could be realistic for there, and obviously, you know, much with the rest of the country there’s a big migrant farmworker population, obviously there’s an indigenous population, obviously Seattle, much like New York where I am, is struggling with their homeless population, or at least struggling to decide whether they want to support them or not, that’s a whole ‘nother story.  I’ll get off my soapbox before I stand up on it.

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

DREAD: So I wanted to pick something that Constance could be doing that would be scary enough to threaten them into, you know, some sort of big action, since I didn’t have X number of seasons to sort of... I didn’t want to finish this when I was 45, you know.  So I wanted to do something that would create a big action for them to rally against and I studied as a farm tech, I was and still am an EMT, so I was like, “okay, medications, hospitals, okay” so I just started playing around with it and I have pages and pages of notes for this story where I was just like, “okay does this work?  Okay that doesn’t work. I might as well have her sitting in the corner going Mwahaha and petting a cat, that’s too big.”

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

DREAD:  You know, have her fly off to the moon and use it to redirect satellites, all I could think was the (several inaudible words)

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

DREAD:  There’s definitely an “as I went” sort of deal, it’s just a little fun to write something kind of action-movie-y I guess so it did get a little more complex this time with secret warehouses and health clinics and…. 

DELAYNE: So, speaking of Jeremy, because well, I adore all of the characters, but some people write these side-characters so wonderfully and you are included, but why did you opt to have Jeremy confront Nico about his identity?

DREAD: I think that that sense of kind of being aware of what’s going on that leads Jeremy to want to get to know Nico, and want to know okay well, “why are you here? What’s your… I can see that they’re starting to let you in, are you really the kind of person that they think you are?  You know, I care about these people enough to…”

DARKWICCAN: Protect them?

DREAD: Right, right.  And kind of shake you out a little bit in my own kind of, not passive exactly, but more subdued way.  You know I’m not going to throw you up against something and demand to know everything about your life but you know, I’m Jeremy, and I’m going to have a conversation with you and I’m gonna look and I’m gonna watch and gonna see how everyone else treats you and how you treat everyone and check to see if there’s things I’m not noticing.  And he happens to stumble across Nico’s broken T bottle that morning and he’s like, “aha! Data I can work with” and figure out what the heck is going on and who this is and does he pose a threat to these people that I’ve grown to care about. So, you know, I um… plus I think Jeremy’s a very honest person and I think once he knew that that’s what was going on and that’s probably what was causing the strife between the two of them, between Nico and Waverly, that he’d still want to do the right thing and kind of come clean to Nico that he has this very personal information about him that Nico would probably not want them to know if he was like, “hey, what’s your innermost secret?  I met you three minutes ago, let’s talk about this.” And Nico would be like “ah no, let’s not, who the hell are you?” I think, kind of, obviously Nico did not immediately react well to that.

DARKWICCAN: I think Nico’s reaction was understandable given the circumstances.

DREAD: True, true, and I did think about that, I did think about whether or not having him be kind of aggressive about it was, not necessarily the wrong move, but just too strong of a move.  I think at the same point it is, and it’s a very tenuous thing and it’s like okay if I was to cut and run I need to know now. If you’re about to threaten me, let’s get this over with, so I know what the honesty of the situation is.  But I think Jeremy was very, you know, obviously did not want to get into any fisticuffs whatsoever, that was never his intention so I’m sure he was a little surprised. 

DARKWICCAN: So speaking of Nico’s identity, and having to protect his identity, you made a very clear calculation in not having Clooties goons go, for want of a better phrase, below the belt when they were torturing Nico for information.  Did you feel it would be a step too far, to have them discover his most dangerous… well, yeah in this circumstance it is dangerous, secret, or was it simply not the story you were wanting to tell.

DREAD: Um, I kind of feel like you’re giving me a little too much credit here because it really was more that, I mean it was, I guess it was a conscious choice in the fact that… part of me didn’t really think about it at all because of the fact that he has his tattoo and with that his scars are pretty much invisible at this point.  I mean Red would have had to get pretty handsy with in order to feel them, your not going to see them so I think in a lot of sense it just kind of went into the fact that, you know, as much as we like to think we’re very observant, humans aren’t very observant. And I don’t, you know, Red’s not the smartest (inaudible) in anything so I don’t think he would really, without knowing to look for it, he wouldn’t look for it.  You know he would just accept Nico as this scrawny looking kid, you know, that had a chest tattoo. And what’s more important is getting his stupid mouth to open and tell him crap about Wynonna so he can get the hell out of the bunker and go do whatever he wants to do instead of, you know, being at Clootie’s beck and call about a stupid kid he had to pick up in a van and be all, do whatever nonsense to that, you know, probably he feels is a waste of his time.  I didn’t think he’d look that closely, I don’t think he’d take the time to go, “hmmm, is this man I just kidnapped cisgender? I don’t know. Let’s find out.” I don’t think he would think to think of it. 

DARKWICCAN: But that’s, no I don’t think he would think to think of that either but I think that he and his cohorts are pretty nasty bad guys and in the torturing side of things, again not thinking, “hey this person I’m going after is anything other than what they’re presenting themselves to be” but what do men protect above all things?  Right? They protect the jewels, so if they were to threaten Nico with I don’t know like battery cables or something in that area, I mean, not that that wouldn’t be incredibly bad regardless but I don’t think, yeah you’re absolutely right I totally agree with you, Red would not be thinking anything other than what Nico presents himself to them but that would also mean that they would be thinking, “how can I threaten this dude?”

DREAD: Um. 

DARKWICCAN: You know, in a way that would be impactful and scary.

DREAD: I also think I didn’t want to get that… I wasn’t looking for Nico to really get that messed up.  Because the other thing is that if I threaten to barbeque his nuts now, you know, what’s Clootie going to have to threaten Wynonna to do later. 

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

DREAD: The level of violence I have to worry about, you know, six chapters later when somebody’s holding the fuse of some C4 in their hand and going, “hmm, we could have a party.”  I’m not one of those authors who is not going to throw my baby down the stairs and go, “ooh ooh that must have hurt.” But I wanted him to be able to get up at the bottom of the stairs and go, “okay so, I’ll be in my…”, you know, just like dry him off, give him some orange juice and send him on his way.  Not have to cart him off in a wheelchair and get him to the ER and make sure we bring the limb too.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, although you do put the characters through the wringer pretty intensely, especially poor Fish and Levi, but we’ll get... unfortunately we don’t have enough time to really touch on that but, uh, man I wish we had more time.  But what I can say is that the work you’ve come up with is very very beautiful, even in its darkest moments. Your facility with language, Dread, is just spectacular, um, the way you write is so vivid, I mentioned this in segment one of this episode, the way you write is just so vivid it feels like you are there and that is super-fun and super-enjoyable.  And it really allows us to empathise with the characters that much more so kudos my friend, excellent, excellent work. 

DREAD: Thank you very kindly. 

DARKWICCAN: You’re very welcome.  Now that I have praised you, we must now put you back on the hot seat.

DREAD: Okay. 

DARKWICCAN: As you know we have a final question that we ask all of our authors--

DREAD: I know... 

DARKWICCAN: It is the most difficult question that we ask.

DREAD: It is. 

DARKWICCAN: So naturally I’m going to turn it over to Delayne to ask.

DELAYNE: You are stranded on a desert island and have only one fanfic to read.  What is it?

DREAD: Guys, I agonised over this for months.  I’m still agonising over it, but I feel like if I give any answer but the one I’m about to give I’m not being entirely honest.  Because reading it is literally one of the reasons I started writing  _ Punch & Rivet  _ so, apologies apologies, um, but I think I will have to go with  _ Wishin’ and Hopin’ _ . 

DARKWICCAN: Oh nice, by Bootsncatz.

DREAD: I’ll be sitting on my desert island with some AU Waverly and Nicole, yep, back in the day. 

DARKWICCAN: That is a fantastic choice, yeah, great choice, and we of course will be providing a link to  _ Wishin’ and Hopin’ _ by Bootsncatz (and boots n catz and boots n catz) in our show notes so everybody who hasn’t already checked out this fantastic 1960s AU will get the opportunity.

DELAYNE: And then feel free to check out our episode about it as well.

DARKWICCAN: And they can do that too, absolutely.  Well, Dread, thank you so much for coming on and chatting to us today about  _ Punch & Rivet _ , this has been so much fun and I am so excited to see how the story wraps up and to see all of the one shots that you have planned as follow ups.

DELAYNE: Yes.

DREAD: Yes, thank you very much for having me, and there are a few, so I don’t, you know, this may be the end of Punch & Rivet coming up but I don’t think we’ll see the end of Nico. 

DELAYNE and DARKWICCAN (together): YAY 

DREAD: But really, no, thank you so much for having me you guys, it’s been amazing, and this whole thing has been a whirlwind of awesome.  Earpers are the best, I’m saying it now, right here. So I, I’m thrilled, thank you.

 

  
  
DARKWICCAN:  And that's it for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for tuning in.   
  
Many thanks to DreadPirateBrown for joining us to talk about his story.   
  
  
Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.   
  
Background music for the episode was:   
  
A Proper Story by Darren Korb   
  
Pickle Jar Rag by Eric Barone   
  
White Rider by Ryan Ike   
  
and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan   
  
  
If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast.    
  
And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.   
  
And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.   
  
  
Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
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> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	5. Climbing the Walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week DarkWiccan and Delayne strap on their climbing harnesses and fill up their chalk bags as they prepare to scale the delightful climbing AU: 'Of Rocky Starts and Smooth Finishes'!

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/climbing-the-walls)

 

Read the Fic!

'[Of Rocky Starts and Smooth Finishes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14711345)' by paradoxicalconverse

 

Episode Artwork by: [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

paradoxicalconverse's Desert Island Fic: [selling acid was a bad idea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11394618) by brogurt

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by MrsBlueBacon

 

EFA Episode 205- Climbing the Walls

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy and welcome everybody to another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. The podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host DarkWiccan and with me in her climbing harness and carabiner clips is my lovely co-host-

 

DELAYNE : Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are climbing the walls this episode.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Literally.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I’ve got the gear. I’ve got my chalk bag. Let’s do this.

 

DARKWICCAN : Let’s do this. And no dry fires. No flashes, no dry fires. Yeah. We’ll get to, obviously we’re throwing some lingo around here. We’ll get to the explanation why in just a moment, but first. Hey Delayne, guess what we’ve got.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, please tell me DW.

 

DARKWICCAN : I shall indeed. Did you know we have a [CONTENT CENSORED - VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

DARKWICCAN : Let’s chat about the one fic we’re talking about this week.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, let’s talk about “Of Rocky Starts and Smooth Finishes” by paradoxicalconverse.

 

DARKWICCAN : The title and the author, both a mouthful.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah. You could tell I was really slowin’ it down, trying to...

 

DARKWICCAN : You were over enunciating there. I did appreciate it though.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, if I’m not “Giggles” then I’m “Mumbles”, so those are your two options.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but louder for the people in the back, yeah it’s “Of Rocky Starts and Smooth Finishes” by paradoxicalconverse, and as alluded to in our snappy intro for this episode, uh, it’s all about climbing. And not just any climbing, but indoor climbing.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN :Yeah, and specifically, indoor climbing competitions. 

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah, regionals is comin’ up. Very, very important competition for young climbers.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s right. Young climbers who are still in high school and have their entire future laid out before them, like a giant wall with lots of knobs on them that you can then grip onto and then...ok, this metaphor is getting out of control.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] When I was in college, they had built a new gym, about halfway through, and they put in a climbing wall in this new gym. And trying to get into that class, well, I never took the class, so…[laughter] I have not done any climbing myself, so...

 

DARKWICCAN : I have.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, indoor climbing. I’ve never been brave enough to try outdoor climbing. Uh, but yeah, I did indoor climbing for awhile. Uh, not long enough that I would call myself anything other than an amateur climber, but yeah. In my early mid-twenties.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : I did climb. I had a harness, and I had climbing shoes, and all that fun stuff, and I use to go with my buddies and we’d go to an indoor gym in Las Vegas, and...

 

DELAYNE : You’d climb the walls.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we’d climb. I mean, there’s not much else to walk about. You climb, that’s the point.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But, as you were throwing around the terms, as we started here...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...were those things that you recognized?

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, no. Absolutely not. No. [laughter] We were just a bunch of kids who happened to make enough money that we could afford harnesses and shoes and chalk bags. We, literally just go to this gym and we’d clip into a rope and, ya know, one person would belay and the other person would climb and that was just what we’d do. There was no technique, it was purely recreational. We’d stay on the easy climbs for the most part, we started to branch off into moderate, ya know, climbs, as we got into it. But then we kinda lost interest because it wasn’t...

 

DELAYNE : It was just climbing walls. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It was just climbing the walls, man. It wasn’t our passion, so ya know. It was a good way to stay in shape though.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, no, these terms that paradoxicalconverse uses, you can tell that they are definitely, definitely a climber. I know that you have delved into the notes more than I have. You are better about reading the notes than me, mostly because, again, I don’t read notes because I don’t wanna be spoiled. That’s the thing. It’s not because I’m like too good for the notes, it’s because I’m afraid that something’s going to get ruined for me before I read it, so it’s just. Nothing against notes. Notes are great.

 

DELAYNE : Well, these notes happen to have explanations of some of the climbing terms. Not all of them. I think a few got missed, but there are definitions on some of these terms, in the notes, if you happen to read the notes. Kinda useful.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, but also, there are context clues within the writing to help you understand what the terms mean. For example, the term flash means you just glance at the wall. You don’t take any time to consider it, you just climb right up, and you don’t fall. Whereas reading a wall, means you’re taking your time, you’re planning out your route, and then you get on the wall and you follow your pre-planned sort of thing. So, that’s, you can get that from context clues.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Now, dry fire, that one kinda, was like “well, it sounds like it hurts.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, dry fire is when your hand loses its grip and you actually rip the skin off on your fingertips or fingers. And that, I’m very sensitive like to hand pain, for some reason, I’m very empathetic to hand pain. So, when I was reading this fic, I have to confess, my hands were killing me.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, this would definitely trigger any sort of, yeah, it did sound painful, but luckily I don’t have any sort of empathy. That would suck, sorry dude.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, thanks man. Another term that paradoxicalconverse used was project. And a project is where there is a climb that you have to work on repeatedly in order to master it. So, again, context clues told me the information, but if that didn’t help, there are definitions throughout the fic in the notes, if you read notes.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : [whispers] I don’t read notes. [normal voice] That’s just me. Y’all go ahead read notes though.

 

DELAYNE : Do whatever works for you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, so we’ve kinda talked about the basic outline of this story. It’s about climbing and I’m sure you can suss out from context clues, favorite term...

 

DELAYNE : Word of the week.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that it’s about Waverly and Nicole who are competitive climbers.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you know what that’s a formula for, Delayne.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That’s a formula for enemies to lovers.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, yes. With lots of fantastically snarky banter.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my gosh, the snark in this, is top notch.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is top notch snark, it is fantastic. The way these two go at each other is great. And I also love the fact that while they’re going at each other they’re both having these internal thoughts.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But they’re not even like denying or trying to, well, there’s a little bit of dismissal, but at the same time, it’s also kinda not and they’re just goin’ with it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and the funny thing is, as usual, neither one of them realizes that the other one is into them.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s fun too, that’s always fun to play around with. [laughter] And I though, for me, one of my favorite points in the story, there’s a point where Waverly and Nicole decide to start training together because Nicole trains like a madwoman. She is super intense and hardcore in her training, and so this pushes Waverly to be similar, so it helps Waverly to improve at a faster rate, training with Nicole. So, they’re training together, [laughter] it’s their first day training together, and Waverly goes to meet Wynonna in the parking lot after leaving the climbing gym and she is furious, absolutely furious, because Nicole has the audacity to train wearing only a sports bra and tight, ya know, tight pants. But really, she’s hung up on the only a sports bra  thing, and it’s really distracting because she’s so hot.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, of course, that’s when Nicole is walking up behind her. And Wynonna’s trying to get Waverly’s attention to let her know that Nicole is...

 

DELAYNE : Well, Wynonna’s the one who said “Haught”, and Waverly’s like “yeah, damnit I hate that, why does she have to be like that?” And she’s like “no, HAUGHT is standing behind you.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] It was really, really well played. I know we’re kind of spoiling it here, by kinda explaining it, but it’s a really well written, funny, almost slapstick comedy, kinda classic comedy beat. It’s really, really good.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, it’s not all fluffy though.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is not. Uh, no. In fact, it gets kinda intense a couple of times.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, yeah. So, we start out with that first snarky moment where there’s a note that Nicole thinks that Waverly wrote in an effort to throw her off her game. Um, and there is a slur word that also appears on her truck later.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. So, we’re not gonna say the slur, but we will explain it, and you can kinda figure out what it was. It starts with a “D”, is four letters long, and is a rather rude term for a lesbian.

 

DELAYNE : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : She finds this note in her chalk bag, and as Delayne said, she thinks it’s just to mess with her and psyche her out. So, she confronts Waverly, thinking it’s Waverly. [whispers] I don’t know understand how she could think that such a horrible thing would come from Waverly.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But, I mean, the competition, the rivalry is real between the two of them. So, I gotta appreciate the Waverly is like “umm, no, I didn’t do that and screw you for thinking I would do something like that”.

 

DELAYNE : That was one of my favorite lines, actually.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : And I like how we bring it back around again, as well.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah, I’m paraphrasing a little bit, but essentially the line is screw you. And um, we do have a nice book end with that, at the end as well. But, uh, yeah, um, so...

 

DELAYNE : Right, so homophobia is a thing in this fic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Is a thing.

 

DELAYNE : Aimed at Nicole.

 

DARKWICCAN : At Nicole. And from a really spectacularly shitty source.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. Very surprising, that we will not spoil for you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, we won’t spoil it for you, but it is awful where this is actually coming from.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, um and ultimately Nicole, after a particularly bad encounter, seeks refuge at the Homestead. And that is when, finally, the truth of the matter between them, more or less, comes out.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And they, ya know, screw it out, basically.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] My notes say, Nicole moves in and tries to make a nest on the floor. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That was like, what? Yeah. That was. What? And ya know, when I think about it though, that is so chivalrous of her that she’s like “even though Waverly and I have snuggled in her bed prior to this, I’m not going to make an assumption and I’m just going to prepare for the worst, which would be me sleeping on my own clothes in a pile on the floor.” And I love, again, how indignantly angry Waverly was, like “what the hell is the matter with you? Why the hell would I make you sleep on a pile of clothes on the floor?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, that’s a great chapter.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. For a variety of reasons, but yeah, the build up to that is just, it’s really terrific. Now, there is, of course, with any good rom-com, which this is kind of rom-dram. Rom-dramedy. 

 

DELAYNE : Rom-dramedy.

 

DARKWICCAN : Rom-dramedy, yes. Is there has to be that misunderstanding between the lovers, right?

 

DELAYNE : Of course. Just gotta have a wee bit of angst.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah, exactly. And it always comes from a place of miscommunication or lack of communication.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah. Exactly.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Exactly, and that is exactly what happens here. Uh, Nicole fails to tell Waverly that, well, a couple of things. [laughter] And I’m realizing now that I can’t talk about them because that would spoil the story too much. Maybe I’ll have a chance to really dig into it in our second segment, but like yeah, I just realized I can’t. I did not forsee this.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That’s what you get for being a planner. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Clearly I didn’t plan well, because I just talked myself into a wall.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Hey, you can climb it now.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I can climb that wall. Hold on, let me strap on my climbing gear.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, this is, we mentioned, they are young, they’re actually still in high school. They’re in their senior year, so far as I can tell.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, based on their ages was listed as seventeen, eighteen-ish.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, something like that, yeah. Yeah. But what I find interesting is that here they are in high school, but they never talk about school.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Like the only thing is the climbing.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And the angst. Which I find very interesting. If they’re in the last few months of their senior year, ya know.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah. The other thing that seems to happen is there’s quite a bit of alcohol.

 

DARKWICCAN : There is quite a bit of alcohol. Yes.

 

DELAYNE : Especially for their young age.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah, but I mean, they’re always drinking at the Homestead.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, typically Wynonna is there, and technically Wynonna’s an adult, so...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...ya know, it’s that whole kinda thing where you can drink here, it’s safe if you drink here than if you go out partying, or something like that kind of thought process.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think Wynonna’s just happy to have drinkin’ buddies.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But she will not touch that Bubble Gum saké.

 

DARKWICCAN : She won’t. That is the only drink that Waverly and Nicole can enjoy without fear of it being absconded into Wynonna’s greedy paws. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But the cheap raspberry vodka, that’s fine.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Yeah. Ok, ya know what, I’ve thought about it. Let’s talk about the one thing that I thought I couldn’t talk about.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : But I’m gonna talk about it, ‘cause it’s buggin’ me. In one of the first few chapters, Wynonna refers to Nicole as being a rookie flatfoot. Now, flatfoot is slang for police officer, and we know what rookie is slang for.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Newbie. So, I read that as newbie police officer. And then, towards the middle-end of the fic, Waverly finds a Purgatory Sheriff’s Department shirt in Nicole’s bag and throws it on ‘cause it’s her girlfriend’s shirt and she wants to wear her girlfriend’s shirt and be cute.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And then she goes to, and then she asks...what? It’s true.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Just the way you said that. I don’t know. “she wants to wear her girlfriend’s shirt and be cute.” I can’t even. Just. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Continuing on, so, she asks Nicole “why do you have a Purgatory Sheriff’s Department shirt?” and Nicole’s like “oh, I was about to tell you about that.” And then, of course wynonnus interruptus and things kinda get scuttled. And it turns out that Nicole is planning on going to the police academy, which affects her ability to be available to do climbing competitions. I won’t go into detail about that, but I was very confused because when Waverly finds out that Nicole’s not gonna be available for competitions, she flips her wig. And, she’s upset because Nicole hadn’t been honest with her, and I’m sitting here very confused at my desk because didn’t Wynonna refer to Nicole as a newbie police officer at the beginning of the story. How is this news? How is this, I don’t know. That is the inconsistency that sort of threw me off.

 

DELAYNE : Ok, and as someone who reads the notes, there was a note. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh god. There was a note. Of course there was a note.

 

DELAYNE : Every time you say something, there’s always a note. Yeah, I believe it was brought up and, oh, I would have to go back and check the note, but the way “rookie flatfoot” was originally used was not, the original intention was not to mean a police officer. I believe...

 

DARKWICCAN : But that’s what it means. But that’s what it means Delayne.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I have never heard, ok, well, then what did it mean?

 

DELAYNE : We’ll have to go pull it up and check the notes.

 

DARKWICCAN : I’ll wait.

 

[waiting music]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Someone in the fourth chapter thought Nicole was a police officer ‘cause I used the term “local flatfoot rookie” to describe her, which is a fair assumption. The way I was intending it was close, but rookie can also mean teammate in sports, other than just cops, so I thought that might be an important distinction to make, so that’s what I meant when I said rookie and failed to address that until now ‘cause I’m the worst. That’s what the note says. [laughter] So...

 

DARKWICCAN : But flatfoot means cop.

 

DELAYNE : I...

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, that’s fine, it’s fic. I don’t know why I’m getting so caught up in this ‘cause it’s fic right?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I think because it was so specific otherwise, the storytelling was so specific, ya know all the very specific climbing terms and uh, ya know, very clear, just very clear writing otherwise, I think that’s why it’s really throwin’ me off. Because the story is so solid, now i know, I basically brushed passed it, I’m like “ok that was weird, wait, wasn’t she always a cop” but ya know. Ok.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Maybe what we need to do here is we need to ask paradoxicalconverse about it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ya know what, that is a fantastic idea.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, let’s do that. Let’s do that. I actually reached out to paradoxicalconverse awhile back and asked if they would be interested in coming on the show to talk about this story. It was funny ‘cause at first they thought I was asking them to come to talk about a different story, so that was a fun miscommunication. That was full of wacky hijinks and misunderstandings.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But once we got past that, it was like “no, no I wanna talk about this story”, they were like “oh no, totally, let’s talk about this story, let’s do it”. So they are gonna be joining us for the second segment of today’s episode. [whispers] I’ve had a lot of sugar today, it’s the day after Halloween. I had way too much candy you guys. Oh my word. I am literally climbing the walls.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, yeah, before we drag them out here and make them spill their guts, uh, let’s take a quick moment and I’m gonna pass this over to the much calmer and more sane Delayne to introduce this week’s [CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

 

DELAYNE : Wait, I’m the sane and calm one now? When did that happen?

 

DARKWICCAN : This episode only.

 

[CONTENT CENSORED - VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC : Victory Tune by Kristoffer Maddigan

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host DarkWiccan and with me, as always, is my delightful cohost-

 

DELAYNE : Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are very excited to have with us today, the author of the incredible climbing AU work that we were discussing in the first segment, “Of Rocky Starts and Smooth Finishes”, paradoxicalconverse. What should we call you paradoxicalconverse?

 

JULIA : Julia is great.

 

DARKWICCAN : Julia is great. Well, Julia, you are great, and welcome to the show

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, Julia is much easier, thank you.

 

JULIA : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It is really great to have you on the show. You have been quite the prolific author of late.

 

JULIA : Thank you, yeah, I’m super into it, so the community is great, so it’s not hard to do.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. This is a great community if you’re just kinda cuttin’ your teeth in fanfiction, or getting back into fanfiction after a break. It’s a good community to come into ‘cause it is a very welcoming, accepting community who is basically game for anything.

 

JULIA : Oh yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, how did you get into fanfiction.

 

JULIA : Ya know, I actually started with Carmila, which I’m sure you guys have probably heard about.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Oh yeah. And so i started writing fanfiction for that when I was about fifteen, and then I just slowly evolved fandoms over time until  _ Wynonna Earp _ popped up.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright, and how did you get into  _ Wynonna Earp _ ?

 

JULIA : I’m trying to remember. I was sitting in my college dorm one day during freshman year and I was just like, “ya know what I’m gonna start watching is a TV show, it’s a new TV show, it’s on Netflix”. And I watched like the whole first season in like one night.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : It was a bad plan ‘cause I had a midterm the next day, but who cares?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] We’re getting this similar story from a lot of authors. They didn’t necessarily start watching it as it aired, but when they get to it on Netflix, the amount of time to consume the entire season is very short.

 

JULIA : Oh my gosh, yeah. And ya know what’s funny? It was during midterms that it was happening, so I watched the whole first season, finished the season, and then the next night bought season two on iTunes ‘cause it wasn’t on Netflix yet. And ran that whole season, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Wow.

 

JULIA : Yeah, it was wild.

 

DARKWICCAN : It was the  _ Wynonna Earp _ effect.

 

JULIA : It is the  _ Wynonna Earp _ effect. I didn’t sleep for three days and I loved every second of it.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That’s fantastic. I mean we’re not encouraging people to do that, but...

 

JULIA : I mean, for the sake of your grades, don’t do that, but for the sake of  _ Wynonna Earp _ , do it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, absolutely. Yeah, at least once a month.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : It, it’s just so good.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is. It is so good, and it’s very, very, very inspirational. And this particular work that you’ve written is not only inspired by the characters of  _ Wynonna Earp _ , but it’s also inspired largely by climbing culture, and you write climbing culture with such familiarity that you must have been a competitive climber at some point. Is this a correct assumption to make, and if so, are you still climbing?

 

JULIA : Oh yeah, I was actually climbing a few hours ago. It’s just I competed for about four years, and when get eighteen. When you get eighteen? When you turn eighteen, you, I got kicked off the team because you can’t be on the team after eighteen.

 

DARKWICCAN : Aww.

 

JULIA : It’s ok, I still climb with them and stuff. I’m just not an official member of the team anymore. I don’t compete anymore, but I like love climbing and I was actually doing a climb one day and I was like “ya know what I should do is write a climber AU because you don’t see any of that, but you see a ton of softball AUs and basketball AUs” and I was like “I’m gonna do a climber one”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, thank you for providing that because everyone knows Nicole climbs.

 

JULIA : Yeah, no, that took me so much by surprise. Like as soon as she was like “oh yeah, I’m a climber”, I was like “OH MY GOD! I’m gonna milk that like a snake.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Nice reclamation.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I have to ask then, in knowing that the character of Nicole Haught canonically climbs, what was the opinion of the one time we’ve seen her scaling a rock face in the series?

 

JULIA : Um, I mean, I’m not gonna try to like diss the show. Using the car as a base was not a very good plan, I will say that. They should have tied it a little down lower, but she did, I mean for acting it out and for probably not being an actual professional climber, I thought she did really well. It could have been finessed a little bit, but it was great for the resources she had, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Considering she was climbing in thick boots where she probably couldn’t feel the rocks too well with her toes and climbing in gloves where she couldn’t really get a grip.

 

JULIA : Yeah, and she’s like trying to go for a magical gun and there’s also like the whole thing with the demon and that would like, I guess that would kinda challenge things a bit.

 

DARKWICCAN : Could throw off your game a little bit?

 

JULIA : Yeah, ya know, I’ve never personally had to climb to face a demon, but I’m not opposed to the idea.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Do you indoor climb only, or do you also go outside and do outdoor climbing?

 

JULIA : I mainly indoor climb, uh, just because my gym is literally two miles from here, so I can just bike down there whenever I want, but I also live in climbing central USA, so uh, I go outside when I can.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice. Nice. Do you keep a harness in your trunk for impromptu climbing, uh, excursions?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Even better, I actually keep a harness in my backpack for impromptu climbing excursions.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : So, I’m never without it. Yeah, I’ll be like “there’s my math homework, my writing homework, a harness, a pair of climbing shoes, oh social studies homework, like”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice. Chalk bag clipped to the outside bag.

 

JULIA : Yeah, I’m one of those college kids.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Fantastic.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Anyway, uh, this is fantastic. Um, one thing I liked about your story is there’s a lot of repeating dialogue, even going so far as the characters are pointing it out, ya know like “hey, that’s my line.” So, what were you trying to show about the characters by having them repeat the same statements or phrases?

 

JULIA : I was really trying to show that they were both totally present at all times when they were with each other. Ya know, ‘cause ya know you can remember gists of conversations, but unless you’re totally present, unless this thing someone said to you really impacts you, you’re not gonna completely remember it. So, I was trying to show that like, when they were with each other they were both fully there, both fully involved with each other, and in doing so, ya know they were able to pull from what the other was saying because it was just kind of a little way to say “oh, we’re so in love and we don’t know it yet and I just love talking to you and that’s why I can recall every single thing you’ve said to me ever”. ‘Cause who doesn’t do that around a crush?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : I don’t know.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] You have some personal experience with that?

 

JULIA : Maybe.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Who doesn’t though?

 

DELAYNE : Maybe me? I just have a terrible memory. [laughter]

 

JULIA : I have a terrible memory except when it comes to pretty girls. Then my memory is great.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that’s amazing how that works, right?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Wild.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, I also liked how in having the girls repeat similar lines or dialogue in their conversations with each other, how it also showed that they were definitely on the same wavelength. Along with being present with each other, they’re on the same wavelength on that. ‘Cause you can be present with somebody but not be on their wavelength, and um, so, but I think here you did a good job of taking that idea and kind of showing it through their language.

 

JULIA : Oh, thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re very welcome. Uh, so, Waverly and Nicole are young in this. They are high school students.

 

JULIA : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And yet, we never see them talking about school.

 

JULIA : Ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, is it simply because climbing obscures everything else in their lives that they don’t, they are focused at all on the fact that they’re on their final stage of their senior year of high school?

 

JULIA : Ya know, looking back on it, Waverly is definitely, Waverly was definitely that educational, school comes first over anything, but I remember when I was in high school, climbing was everything. My friends would be like “hey do you wanna do a study session for this test” and I’d be like “no, I’m probably gonna fail it, but I’m gonna go climbing”. Ya know, it was just always, it was such a good release for me to go climbing, and so that’s what they’re mainly focused on right now. I don’t know, it’s just like very, I don’t know. I could tell, even writing this story that I was like I want them to really just be in the moment with climbing, I want them to be, this is like what they want to define themselves at at this point in their life, so high school is kind of background music for them.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, how were they doing in high school? Did you have kind of a mental picture?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : I mean, Waverly’s passing everything, of course.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Ya know, is that even a question?

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I don’t know. It’s your AU right?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Nicole, Nicole’s doing pretty good I guess. I feel like Nicole, ya know, we did recently learn that she stayed in the back and smoked cigarettes, so...

 

DARKWICCAN : That was at church though.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : But I feel like that carried over. I feel like Nicole probably got like, Nicole was like “C’s” get degrees. Like that was Nicole’s idea.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I love that saying. I haven’t heard that saying in years.

 

JULIA : That’s how I clarified, that’s how I made it ok to watch  _ Wynonna Earp _ instead of studying for my midterm. I was like “next episode, C’s get degrees” liike.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : That was like my plan. I passed.

 

DELAYNE : I was more like the Waverly and the one C that I got I was losing my damn mind. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I can picture you having a mild nervous breakdown over that, Delayne.

 

JULIA : Ya know, I never actually got a single C last semester. I was like “Oh my god, it’s the power of the gays.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Gay power.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

JULIA : It is. That’s the power, like  _ Wynonna Earp _ , gay power, they’re very interchangeable.

 

DARKWICCAN : Gays are good for grades.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Ooh, that’s another one. That’s how also Nicole was like, Nicole was like “C’s get degrees, gays for grades.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : That’s how Nicole did in high school.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Right, so these youngsters, um.

 

DARKWICCAN : Did you say yongsters [ph]?

 

DELAYNE : I said youngsters.

 

DARKWICCAN : Youngsters. Ok, the two youths.

 

JULIA : I’ll say youngsters. No, that totally works. I love that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I thought, no Delayne, I totally thought you said yongsters [ph].

 

DELAYNE : Young-sters.

 

DARKWICCAN : Youngsters, ok.

 

DELAYNE : Do I need to slow down and enunciate again?

 

JULIA : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Sure.

 

DELAYNE : Would you like me to do that?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] So, these kids. The wee ones. They’re young, and there’s um, there’s quite a bit of alcohol being consumed in the story. 

 

JULIA : [breathes in]

 

DELAYNE : Both by kids and the adults, too, ‘cause Wynonna, at least is out of school and then Nicole’s parents. So, were you trying to impart a cautionary tale or is the alcohol consumption just a normalized part of this universe?

 

JULIA : There were like a few different parts. I wanted to stay true to the  _ Wynonna Earp _ universe in some sense because I feel like alcohol is a, I don’t wanna say theme of  _ Wynonna Earp _ , but it’s definitely present in  _ Wynonna Earp _ . I think a direct quote from Wynonna in season three is, she calls herself an alcoholic milf [ph]. Um.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Which, you can’t really avoid that and like, uh, so I definitely thought, like Wynonna being borderline alcoholic would be true to who she is as a character, so I felt like I couldn’t really like bypass that, and I wanted to include that. And then we never really got a back story on Nicole’s parents, but we never quite saw them. Ya know she didn’t talk about them, so it was probably, in my opinion safe to assume, that she didn’t really have a great relationship with her parents. Uh, ya know, it wasn’t, ya know, it was obviously up to the AU to determine “well, why is that and maybe it was because of this, maybe it was because of that”, but I thought that alcohol tied in pretty well with the rest of the theme with Wynonna and with what was going on and how Nicole was having to handle this situation. Wooh. I thought that maybe the alcohol was kind of a good knot to tie it all together. While staying true to the theme of  _ Wynonna Earp _ and replacing her water with whiskey and all that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. [laughter] Yeah, and also, I mean, you do say in the story that Nicole speaks of her parents implying that they’re alcoholics and that when they fight, ya know, and they get really mean and it can, and that is part of uh, the sort of damaged relationship between her and her folks, and another element to this story, if we can get serious here for a second, is there is a strong element of homophobia in this story. In fact, it’s such a major focus in this that from the outset, Nicole assumes Waverly has left a slanderous note in her chalk bag, and uh, and it just kinda gets worse for Nicole from there. What made you decide to focus so heavily on this element, to the point of making it a driving force within the plot?

 

JULIA : This might turn into a rant of sorts, uh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Please rant. Go for it. Here is a soapbox. Please, here it is. Stand on it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Good. Good. Good. Well, so there are a few different reasons why I wanted to do it. Um, one, is as, ya know, as a, every queer individual is going to experience some form of discrimination in their lives. Ya know, they are, whether it’s homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, ya know, there’s always going to be some form of discrimination or someone who says “you can’t be that way. You can’t be who you are.” And more than anything, that’s gonna tie into something. I’m gonna leave that there, that ties into something.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

JULIA : More than anything, I want my stories to be something that people who read them can see themselves in. And obviously, ya know, you’re, I’m not directly implying that everyone’s gonna fall in love with the pretty girl who competes in rock climbing against them, but ya know, I want people to see, ya know, themselves in part of this story, and uh, wait, oh yeah cool. I was like “I lost my tangent”. Um, we, as a group of LGBTQ youth, we have this complete deficit of representation in the media, other than  _ Wynonna Earp _ , and of course, I am so grateful for what  _ Wynonna Earp _ has done for us. Ya know, they have provided us with Jeremy as a queer person of color, and there’s Waverly who is queer, and Nicole and Robin. And this is all incredible, but we still face this incredible deficit, and so I wanted to make my story as true to my readers as possible without making it like a tragedy because we get so many of those, ya know. And like I wanted that when people read it they’re like “I can see myself represented this way” and ya know, even if this situation, ‘cause this is so realistic, this could happen. It will be ok for me, even if it’s not right now, so that was kinda what I was really trying to impart. Was like even if you’re in a really bad situation right now because of who you born as and there are people, maybe even your parents who don’t love you for that, or ya know, who distance themselves from you because of something you can’t change, you always have support from me and I will always write you characters that you can relate to. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I think, well another thing that I think that you managed to show in the story is um, that even if you’re a queer person and you’re faced with discrimination on a familial level, there are still people who will accept you and take you in.

 

JULIA : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, there’s always that flip side to the coin. Where you have a very negative situation, and on the other side of that is the positive side. That there will be people who will accept you and who will help you and in this instance it was Wynonna and Waverly helping Nicole.

 

JULIA : Yeah, and it’s just to my readers, it’s like you are never alone. Even if you feel like it, like I promise you are never alone.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, Delayne. Now you can ask your funny question.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : I love that Delayne is always laughing. That brings so much light to this conversation.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It’s called nervous giggling. Especially when people make profound statements and it’s like “a ha, I have no words so I’m just gonna sit over here and giggle to myself.”

 

JULIA : Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : So, I guess, thanks. I don’t know. [laughter] Uh, anyway. This is a very important question. So, did the sequence of who literally fell off the wall first, have anything to do with who fell in love first?

 

JULIA : It did not, but if I say yes, I feel like it’ll make me sound like a really good storyteller.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, that wasn’t a metaphor?

 

JULIA : That was not a metaphor, no. And ya know what’s funny? I consider my writing to be very garden-esque, so I just throw some shit down and see what grows from it, ya know what I mean?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

JULIA : That was the basis of this story. I was like “climbers, gays, [splash sound]” and then I just saw what happened. And so I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, like, I mean obviously with the homophobia and um, ya know, all the rest of it, but like that actual thing? No.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

JULIA : That was very, that was very smart of me to figure out though, and now that is supposed to be what that represented.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Go you.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you sort of left the story off on a bit of an open ending. I mean it’s still a conclusion, but a bit of an open ending where you have Waverly going off to college, and Nicole driving her off to college. Uh, if you were to continue in this universe, do you have ideas for other stories that you could tell?

 

JULIA : Ya know, I’d probably definitely wanna continue Waverly, uh, ya know, seeing how she could fit her climbing career into college. I mean, of course I’d wanna tell the story about Nicole being a cop, ya know, that’s just, that just goes hand in hand with what I’d be talking about. Um, but I’m gonna be honest, I left it very open ended because it was kind of like a self-insert for me almost. It was very like, that’s pretty much what I did. I stopped going climbing and then I left and went to college. And it’s kind of like it’s anyone’s story from there. Um, and that was kinda how I wanted it to be. Is anyone’s story past that. Ya know, this terrible thing happens and then it gets better and then life goes on. And that was how I wanted the story to end, but if I was going to continue it, I’d definitely wanna tangent how Nicole’s gonna become a cop is gonna play into Waverly, ya know, probably getting a history degree along with being a climber and then making time for each other and, I don’t know, I’d think of another plot too.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : One that actually had a plot, too.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] You’d find something to play with in there.

 

JULIA : Yeah, breadcrumbs. Pick ‘em all up, make a meal. We’ll be fine.

 

DELAYNE : Will anyone be falling off of walls again, ‘cause, yeah. Apparently it does.

 

JULIA : Oh, that never stops happening. Every time you go climbing you’re gonna fall.

 

DELAYNE : Ok, note to self: glad I never trained for climbing. [laughter]

 

JULIA : Note to self: use a mat because if you miss the mat, it hurts.

 

DELAYNE : Oh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah. I was saying in our segment before we got into the interview portion here, I use to climb, do indoor climbing when I lived in Las Vegas, and uh, and yeah, I think every climbing, every time we’d meet up at the gym, one of us would fall. At least once per session, and it was really funny is when myself and my climbing partner, if she was belaying me, we weighed about the same, so...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Ooh.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...if I were to slip and fall, she inevitably would end up, she’d like go up and we’d end up like hanging next to each other.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Were you lead climbing?

 

DARKWICCAN : No, no, no, no. This was just a recreational climbing, rock, wall climbing gym in Vegas, and ya know, ropes were already connected.

 

JULIA : Oh, so top rope.

 

DARKWICCAN : Top rope, yeah. I don’t know the terms. I was saying that in the previous segment as well.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t know the terms, we just, we were just lucky enough, my friends were in our early twenties and we had the ability to afford climbing harnesses, shoes, and chalk, So, we were just like “let’s go climbing, let’s do this thing”, and...

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...so we would just go every weekend for a few months, and just go climbing. And then we just got tired of it ‘cause it wasn’t our passion and we moved on.

 

JULIA : I mean, yeah that was, oh sorry.

 

DARKWICCAN : No, that’s ok. That was it. That was basically the story.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Good story. Very good.

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you.

 

JULIA : That was one of the challenges I faced, was because climbers have such obscure terms for things, uh, beta, flash, barn door, ya know, like jug, crimp, pinch. I could list off ten more and they mean nothing to people who don’t climb, and so I was trying to put them in the notes, but then I also didn’t wanna like put them in the front of the notes, and like bog people down. But then I was like “where do you guys want me to put them?” And then some people were like “leave them in the bottom” and some people were like “put them in the top” and I was like “ok”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

JULIA : But because we have such, like if you say “oh, he flashed it.” I mean, obviously to someone who’s not a climber, they’re gonna be like “he did whaaaat [ph]?”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] He stripped down naked and ran past it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Yeah, and so people were like “wait, what does that mean?” and so people were like “I’m having to reread it after taking the information” and I’m like “[sing song voice]”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, ya know, here’s the thing though. And I was saying this again, department of redundancy department, sorry listeners, in our previous segment, is that even having climbed, I didn’t know really any of the terms, and I could put together what they meant using contextual clues, which is a little thing we all learn when we’re learning our reading comprehension in elementary school.

 

JULIA : Mmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, if you are reading a sentence and there is a word you’re not familiar with, use the context clues around the word to help you understand what it could mean. And that worked fine for me I would say ninety-five percent of the time. I think the only word that I was really like “huh, what does that mean?” was, gosh, what was it now, I don’t recall.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Can you give me the letter it starts with?

 

DARKWICCAN : Nope. [laughter]

 

JULIA : Nothing, ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nope. Nothin’. So, I’m gonna assume there were no words I had issues with so there, haha.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : I mean, that was my goal. I was trying to throw in context clues to give people a break, but after awhile I was like “I have no idea how I’m gonna manage to work this in while explaining what it is without saying that, so, uh, it’s a free for all for you guys. I’ll stick it in notes.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But speaking of terms, I have a little bone to pick with you, my friend.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Oh, man.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Oh, no.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] At the beginning of this story, I can’t remember if it was chapter one or chapter two. You have Wynonna refer to Nicole as a rookie flatfoot. Now, I will say that you did give a clarification in the notes later on, that by rookie you didn’t necessarily mean new police officer, just new member of a team. Ok, I completely agree with you there. Rookie is a very flexible term that can be applied to any new person in any situation. However, the term flatfoot, my friend does refer to police officers.

 

JULIA : Oh no.

 

DARKWICCAN : If you look up slang, if you go slang definition flatfoot, the first thing that pops up is a police officer.

 

JULIA : See, I didn’t know that. I was just trying to pull it in from the show. Uh, you learn something new every day.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

JULIA : Sorry, everyone.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, that really threw me off once we get to the back end and Waverly is uh, upset with Nicole for keeping this detail from her and I’m like “but they always knew” I don’t know.

 

JULIA : That’s how I’m fixing this. It was foreshadowing.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : You. There. I’m a genius, it was foreshadowing. Good job.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, ok. I suppose I can give that one to you.

 

JULIA : Oops.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Where to me, flatfoot is a condition my wife suffers from and why the military wouldn’t take her, so.

 

JULIA : Yeah, that’s what I thought they were talking about. I thought flatfoot was just, uh, flat feet. I was like “ok, that was in the show”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Here’s why flatfoot refers, in slang terminology, to a police person. A policeman who has been walking a beat for many years, their arches over time will fall and they will become flat footed. So that is where the term flatfoot in regards to police comes from.

 

DELAYNE : That makes sense.

 

JULIA : Maybe after this, I’ll just go into the fic and just take out the word flatfoot and be like “uh, it wasn’t in there, I don’t know what you guys are talking about.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

JULIA : You have no proof.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It’s fine to edit. You’re welcome to go and edit. 

 

JULIA : Yeah, oops.

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it’s a stupid thing to get hung up on. I have said this. I have said this is dumb for me to get hung up on because this is a fic, it’s fanfiction, it’s fine.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : No, I actually really appreciate you pointing that out, thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

JULIA : I mean, I just learned something, so neat.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : And I will not be uh, will not be so careless with doing, with using flatfoot rookie next time. I will just say rookie.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : And then, when someone calls me out on it, I’ll say it was foreshadowing.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, now you’re prepared. Now you’re prepared for those future conversations. When you get someone making a comment, or whatever, but yeah.

 

JULIA : Perfect.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so, you’ve got quite a lot of um, stories, on, hot on the burner right now, over on AO3.

 

JULIA : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : Wow, you do actually have quite a few that pop up.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, like seventeen, seventeen works for  _ Wynonna Earp _ alone.

 

DELAYNE : Wow.

 

JULIA : Yeah, I have a lot of time when I should be studying that I don’t want to.

 

DELAYNE : When I was doing my graduate program, that’s when I wrote the most, so yeah. [laughter] Complete avoidance. [laughter]

 

JULIA : Yeah. I’m like, “I have linear algebra homework, but ya know what else I could be doing instead of linear algebra homework? Anything.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

JULIA : And then it always comes around to being gay and writing, so. It works.

 

DARKWICCAN : As long as you’re able to C your way to a degree, I think whatever you need to do is fine.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : I’m using Nicole’s method and it’s going great.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

JULIA : C’s get degrees.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Stay in coles. Stay in school. Kids. Um.

 

JULIA : Yes, stay in school. Make it to college, it’s so much better than high school. To all my high school listeners out there. Just you can do it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Make it through. Well, Julia, this has been a ton of fun, and uh, a part of me wishes I was still in my early mid twenties and still climbing ‘cause I think I would have a blast hanging out with you in the old gym.

 

JULIA : Aww, that’s so sweet. That warms my heart.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, good. Yay. Yay for hot hearts.

 

JULIA : Aww.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So…

 

JULIA : Haught? Wait, was that a pun, ‘cause you should say that was a pun.

 

DARKWICCAN : It was a pun.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : That was a really good pun.

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you.

 

JULIA : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, so now that you’re reeling from my puntastic [sic] humor, um, we’re gonna come at you with out most intense, hot seat question that we have here on the show. And, of course, I never do this, um, because it’s just too difficult for me. I’m gonna pass it over to my dear friend, Delayne, to hit you with the hard ball.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It’s like when my wife has me go into restaurants to complain about a problem, it’s ‘cause I’m so nice about it. That’s probably why you have me do it all the time right?

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re just so likeable Delayne.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : I mean, you do laugh through everything, it’s such a good mood setter.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Anyway, so you’re stranded on a desert island and have only one fanfic to read. What is it?

 

JULIA : Ya know, I sat on this question for awhile, and I was like “I don’t now” and then it occurred to me in an epiphany. It would be “selling acid was a bad idea” by brogurt because I think I’ve read that fic like nineteen times.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It is a fantastic story, and uh, it is a very popular story, and I am very glad to once again feature it in our show notes with a link so that folks who haven’t had a chance to read yet “selling acid was a bad idea”  by brogurt will now get that opportunity.

 

JULIA : That was also one of those things that kept me up for a whole night and I like finished it in like four hours and then I sat in the fetal position for the next six and was like “[gasp] it’s over!”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s me with pretty much any tigerlo work.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Ooh, relatable.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah. Hashtag relatable.

 

JULIA : Ya know, you just have those fics and you have those fic authors where you’re like “I would literally sell you my left kidney to write a fic” or something like that.

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m not gonna tell you what I proposed to tigerlo to get her to write me more fic. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Was it your kidney?

 

DELAYNE : Just say yes, it was your kidney.

 

DARKWICCAN : Let’s just say biblical references were involved. Anyway, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : What?!

 

DARKWICCAN : Julia, it has been wonderful having you with us today.

 

JULIA : Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I had such a good time.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and I look forward to getting to read your stories as you post them. I have no doubt that we’ll have you back on in the future to talk about another one of your works. Uh, but right now, I’m gonna direct everyone to keep an eye out on “Occidere”, I hope I’m writing that right, which is your current zombieverse AU. It’s a lot of fun you guys, you should totally check it out. Very intriguing.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : [whispers] Thank you. [normal voice] I wanted to slip that in very slowly. [whispers] Thank you. [normal voice] Very quiet.

 

DARKWICCAN : [whispers] You’re welcome.

 

JULIA : [whispers] Thanks.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] This has become kind of like, what’s that called when people who are listening to people who are speaking soft spoken? Like whispering, that’s a thing.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, AS...

 

JULIA : Whispering.

 

DELAYNE : ASMR.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, ASMR.

 

JULIA : Oh, I was not close.

 

DARKWICCAN : This is turning into an ASMR session. Anyway.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

JULIA : Does anyone have some paper to crinkle?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

JULIA : I’ve got a piece next to me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Go head and crinkle it, we’ll go out on your paper crinkling, for all of you ASMR fans out there.

 

JULIA : Ok, you guys ready?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

JULIA : Ready?

 

DARKWICCAN : We’re ready.

 

JULIA : [crinkling paper sound] Ok, that’s it. That’s all I got. [laughter]

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us. Tremendous thanks to Julia, aka paradoxicalconverse, for lead climbing our talk about her fic “Of Rocky Starts and Smooth Finishes”. Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story by Darren Korb, Moon Touched by Darren Korb, Victory Tune by Kristoffer Madigan, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	6. The Heart of Rock 'n' Roll is the Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This morning DarkWiccan and Laragh dust off their Sony CFS-W30 boomboxes and load up their favorite Journey albums and rock out as they reminisce over the 80's Mixtape AU!

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/a-rock-n-roll-kind-of-love)

 

Read the series!

[you can tell everybody this is your song](https://archiveofourown.org/series/819408) by gilligankane and TheGaySmurf

 

Note: in the primary segment DW and Laragh say that the character of David doesn't appear until the final single. This is incorrect! Keen-eyed readers will be able to spot him in earlier singles!

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

Episode transcript by ApproxTenCats

 

EFA Episode 206- The Heart of Rock’n’Roll is the Feeling

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN: Thanks announcer guy and welcome everybody to yet another episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me, all the way from bonny Ireland, is my totally aces co-host...

LARAGH: Its Laragh.

DARKWICCAN: And if you haven’t guessed yet this week we are going to be talking about the immense and epic series the eighties mixtape AU.   That’s not the actual name of the series, the actual name of the series is  _ You Can Tell Everybody This Is Your Song _ but most people refer to it as the eighties mixtape AU.

LARAGH: Correct.

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] You’re so full of witty banter today Laragh.

LARAGH: [Laughter] I don’t know how else to agree with you about that, that is what it’s called.

DARKWICCAN: That is what it’s called, yes.  But before we get down to tackling this incredibly impressive work, or series of works, we have some new patrons to thank this week.

LARAGH: Woo hoo.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, very exciting.  Since we started season two I’ve been gobsmacked actually at the number of new patrons that have been coming across.  It’s really exciting and quite honestly I’m so honored, guys, it warms my heart so much to know that people care about us enough to help us make this show, it’s pretty awesome.

LARAGH: I’m not gobsmacked in the least.  I love the show and I love you guys and everything you do, and I’m not surprised that you get the kind of support that you do.

DARKWICCAN: Aw.  Thank you Laragh, that’s very sweet.  But yeah, we have some new patrons to thank this week and they are Lexi, Anne, Liz and Yesenia.  So thank you so much all of you for your support, we could not produce this show without you. [CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

LARAGH: Totally clutch.

DARKWICCAN: Totally clutch, thank you!  And that brings us beautifully back around to the reason why we are here this week.  And note, really quick, that the opinions and takeaways we may have from the stories may not necessarily reflect the opinions of the authors.  Anyway, back to the reason why we’re here!

LARAGH: Yes, the reason we are here this week is to do a wrap up of sorts of the epic eighties mixtape AU.  So it’s a series that spanned a year, the entire season two hiatus, between season three. And I don’t know what their word count must be at but it’s… it’s a lot.

DARKWICCAN: I wanna say, and of course smurf can clarify, I wanna say the word count is somewhere upwards of 600,000.

LARAGH: Yeah, I would have no trouble believing that.

DARKWICCAN: Thirty eight individual works in this entire series, with an update every Friday.

LARAGH: And spanning like a three decade period.

DARKWICCAN: And yeah, the stories themselves spanning almost three decades, yeah, wow, you’re right.  Now we only have a half hour for our first segment here so we won’t have time to deep dive into all thirty eight pieces, so what we did is between Laragh and I we put our heads together and we picked out our favorite works from the series.  Or if not necessarily our favorite then works that were definitely a milestone event in the character’s lives.

LARAGH: Yuh-huh.

DARKWICCAN: And so we each picked two fics, Laragh picked two of the “littles” series, that’s what I them “littles” because it takes place before the main fic which we did talk about in our first episode of our first season last year.  The main fic which is “It’s Like I Wrote Every Note With My Own Fingers”, that takes place in high school, it’s a high school AU. So any stories that take place prior to that main fic we kind of lovingly call the “littles” fics because they are all about Nicole, and Waverly, and Wynonna and everybody as children, or at least younger than high school.  And I picked two adult fics, these are stories that take place after high school. So yeah, we’re still going to do our usual formula though where we sort of go back and forth. I think it makes sense to start off with a “littles” fic so Laragh the ball is in your court.

LARAGH: So the first single that I chose is “Behind the Gun I’ll Make My Final Stand” and it is set in 1979 when Nicole is eight and Waverly is seven, so they are still in elementary school at this point.  And honestly, I’m going to be straight up with you DW, the reason I chose this is because Nicole punches Tucker.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter]  There is something so satisfying about...

LARAGH: Yeah, in real life, if I was with someone who goes around punching people I would probably dump them, you know, I would not be into someone who was violent like that.  But in fanfiction, when a lady defends her lady by punching someone who is a douchebag, in the face, I am so into it.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.  It is pleasant [Laughter].  It is definitely a wonderful, wonderful catharsis to see Tucker get socked.

LARAGH: Multiple times as well.

DARKWICCAN: Multiple times, yeah.  So essentially the plot of the story is what? Tucker has been bullying Waverly at school, and saying all sorts of horrible things or stealing her juice box at lunch and pulling her hair, pushing her.  Typical, well what should not be typical but unfortunately currently is typical, kind of bad little boy behavior.

LARAGH: Especially when it’s justified by “liking a girl”.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm, mhmm!!

LARAGH: We won’t get into a rant about toxic masculinity, we’ll just put it out there.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm! Yeah. Ahem.  No we’re not gonna go down that road today, I’ll just once again: mhmm!  So essentially Nicole and Wynonna both learn about this crap thing going on by forcing Waverly to spill the beans about it.

LARAGH: Yes, they pretty much force her.  Waverly wants none of it, Waverly wants to forget about it, or just pretend it’s not happening, or just deal with it.  I think maybe she’s afraid of what Wynonna would do.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm.

LARAGH: And Wynonna getting in trouble, I felt like maybe she was trying to prevent Wynonna from getting in trouble.

DARKWICCAN: Right yeah, and that does make sense.  One thing that I thought was really interesting, and I’d forgotten about this, I went back to re-read the fics in the last couple of days to get ready for this episode, I wanted these fics to be fresh in my mind.  I’d forgotten that Wynonna had for the most part had elected to be mute, especially at school. But Nicole understands her and I love that. I LOVE that.

LARAGH: Me too, we’re both fans of the Wynaught BroTP and just as much as I love fics with Wayhaught being little soulmates, having Nicole and Wynonna be little friend soulmates is just as satisfying and enjoyable to read.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, just having them be littles is satisfying and enjoyable to read, but having them be littles who are best friends is just, oh, it’s a delight.  It’s an absolute delight.

LARAGH: The thing I enjoyed about this one as well is that I’m pretty sure this is the first chronologically.  This is the first time we really meet Mercedes in any kind of large way, we get to know her from this one.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, this is the first time we meet any of the Gardner kids and it’s actually chronologically the first story of the entire series if you’re going by year.

LARAGH: Is it?

DARKWICCAN: Yeah. 

LARAGH: Oh, okay, I didn’t think it was, there you go. Okay, cool.  

DARKWICCAN: Yeah [laughter]

LARAGH: I didn’t mean that when I picked it out, I thought… sorry go ahead

DARKWICCAN: No no, yes, that was an excellent happy accident, yeah, I actually forgot that this was the first story in the timeline, because it’s actually not the first story as far as publishing order.

LARAGH: No, it’s one of the later ones.

DARKWICCAN: So this is as far back as we get to go with them, and it’s really cute, it’s really sweet.  And I love that how… what’s the word I’m looking for here Laragh, help me out… where Nicole has this sort of duty bound sense of honor, maybe that’s it.

LARAGH: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah?

LARAGH: Yeah, that is like the quintessential Nicole trait, honorable, loyal.

DARKWICCAN: And Tucker ends up causing problems on the playground when he steals Waverly’s hat, is that what it was? He steals her hat.  And Nicole comes to the rescue and socks him in the jaw and then ends up sitting on his chest and whaling on him.

LARAGH: Whaling on him, yeah.  It’s amazing.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, and she sort of goes into seeing red mode where she’s not really sure what’s going on around her, she’s just gotta whale on this little dickweed.

LARAGH: Normally I wouldn’t laugh at an eight year old being punched but it’s Tucker, we know what he grows up to be.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, but yeah but they end up in detention because Wynonna isn’t going to let Nicole have all the fun.   She just hauls off and socks after the fight is over in front of the teacher, that is such a Wynonna thing.

LARAGH: That is so Wynonna, yeah, I love that.

DARKWICCAN: But, uh, so we also, we meet a lot of characters for the first time, we meet the Gardeners, we meet Valdez!

LARAGH: Yes, who is in detention.

DARKWICCAN: Who is in detention.  And I couldn’t figure out how old Valdez is supposed to be.

LARAGH: Well, she’s around about their age isn’t she?

DARKWICCAN: She’s around about their age, I think maybe she’s a year older, or two.

LARAGH: Yeah, cause they’re in high school together later aren’t they? 

DARKWICCAN: Does Valdez show up in the high school?  

LARAGH: I thought she was… oh maybe not, I don’t know, I can’t remember.

DARKWICCAN: I don’t recall, but she is round about their ages.  She’s probably a couple of years older. But I just love the rumours, you know, about how Valdez killed a man or something.  [Laughter]

LARAGH: It’s so elementary school. [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, she’s like eleven years old.  Or, uh, I love it when they sit down to play cards in the detention room, because Mercedes shows up despite the fact that she doesn’t have detention.

LARAGH: Yeah, she just likes the fact that they punched Tucker too.  Everyone wants Tucker punched, except Tucker.

DARKWICCAN: Exactly, a Tucker-punch. [Laughter]  But, no I love the fact that they ask Valdez if she wants to play cards and she goes, “I only play for pink slips.” [Laughter] She’s eleven years old, if that!  I’m probably way off. It just cracked me up. So yeah, and of course we had some really great Curtis and Nicole time as well, yeah.

LARAGH: Even just his name makes me sad.

DARKWICCAN: I know [sigh] but we’ll get to that, we’ll get to that in a moment.  It’s just so easy to just banter and chat about these stories because they’re just so vivid and beautiful and we could just wax poetical on and on.  But we do have three more stories we need to talk about. So if it’s okay with you I’m going to move on to...

LARAGH: Please.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, um, so my first pick of the adult stories is “I Get Hysterical, Hysteria” and that is the Wayhaught wedding, and it takes place in 1997 so it’s nine years, well it’s really eight years since the end of the primary fic “It’s Like I Wrote Every Note with my Own Fingers” which culminates with Nicole graduating from the police academy in 1989, so it’s eight years later and they’re getting married.  And there is a fantastic proposal story, so I’ll throw the title out, it’s called “There’s a Band of Gold” and it takes place almost exactly a year prior to the wedding story and it is Nicole at her absolute over-dramatic best as far as planning this elaborate, and I mean elaborate, proposal to Waverly. But it’s absolutely perfect and it’s purely Nicole and you guys, everyone should read it. But that’s not what I’m talking about, I’m talking about the wedding one “I Get Hysterical, Hysteria”.  And this story is kind of… I mean first of all it’s gorgeous, it’s lovely, it’s everything. I mean Pirate [sigh] just never fails.

LARAGH: It’s just… it’s just so sweet and it’s cheesy but in the best possible way.

DARKWICCAN: Right, it’s the good cheese, it’s like camembert.

LARAGH: Yes, we have to remember that this is based on an eighties romcom.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.

LARAGH: So that sort of theme continues throughout.

DARKWICCAN: Right yeah.

LARAGH: It’s just… it’s so… it’s so… it’s like giving yourself a hug.

DARKWICCAN: It is.  It is. And I love the details at the beginning where Waverly has just stressed herself out, to the max.  

LARAGH: To the max, hey….

DARKWICCAN: Wynonna getting into some sort of ridiculous wrassling match, I wouldn’t say it’s wrestling, it’s more like wrassling and they end up knocking over the seating chart that Waverly has been slaving over for months.  And I just like how quickly Nicole steps in to we’re-gonna-solve-this mode, and she immediately calls over Chrissy to come over and help mend the seating chart, and she sends Wynonna away and she grabs Waverly and says, “you’re gonna take a shower, you’re gonna put on some clothes, and we’re gonna leave the house!”   

LARAGH: [Laughter] Yeah, because Waverly hasn’t left the house in like two weeks or something.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, like so long she can’t even remember the last time she left the house because she’s been in wedding planning mode and we all know that when Waverly gets into planner mode, watch out.  So I just love that sort of brief interlude at the beginning when she gets Waverly away from this very stressful, potential freak out scenario and she just bundles her off, bundles her into the car, and they just take off on a little drive.  And they have this kind of quiet, just the two of them time before we dig into the main meal of the story which is of course the wedding itself. And there are a lot of flashbacks to when they were younger, or even very recent flashbacks to recent conversations that Nicole has been having with friends and family in preparation for the wedding and, [sigh], it’s just so wholesome, it’s absolutely wholesome.  Then we get to the wedding day itself and I just love this moment where Waverly is waiting in essentially a glorified broom closet, to come out to do this walk down the aisle and Nicole is really nervous and for whatever reason, I don’t know why, after all this time Nicole is still so paranoid that Waverly is going to change her mind about them. She’s having these “oh my god what if, what if” thoughts and I just love this beautiful moment where Nicole’s on one side of the door, and Waverly’s on the other side of the door, and they both have their heads against the door, and they both have their hands pressed against the door even though they can’t see each other, and Waverly’s just reassuring Nicole and Nicole is finally taking a breath and it’s just such a lovely moment.

LARAGH: It’s another one of those romcom quote-unquote cliches but it just fits in so beautifully.  They weave that beautiful setting, those beautiful moments, into the overall theme and you just kind of take a breath don’t you, you just sigh.  It’s like, “this is so good.”

DARKWICCAN: And I think because it is such a familiar image it makes the ability to visualize it that much better, and clearer.  And of course the wedding itself is very sweet and I love Waverly’s vows, you guys have got to read the story for Waverly’s vows, they are perfect. 

LARAGH: They are the best.

DARKWICCAN: They are the best.

LARAGH: I just have Waverly’s vows and like ten exclamations marks here, in my notes.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.  Well okay, so that’s the wedding one which is “I Get Hysterical, Hysteria,” and everybody needs to read it.  Well everyone should read this entire series. Oh, it’s just so beautiful.

LARAGH: And I think with this one as well you need to read at least the majority of the series to get the context and stuff.

DARKWICCAN: You have to, yeah, you absolutely have to.

LARAGH: Yeah, so my next “littles” choice is “Yesterday and Days Before, Sun is Cold and Rain is Hard”.

DARKWICCAN: [Whispering] You had to pick this one didn’t you….

LARAGH: I know, but I had to pick this one DW, I just had to.  I know it’s hard. It’s just the most feelings inducing one there is.

DARKWICCAN: Oh the feels are so strong with this one.

LARAGH: And that is because… Curtis dies.

DARKWICCAN: [Sad moaning noise]

LARAGH: So, for context Nicole is fourteen and Wynonna the same age as Nicole, and Waverly is thirteen.  And this is 1985 and oh my god, this… 

DARKWICCAN: [Sighs]

LARAGH: I know, I feel the same.  And I always find it amazing that they’ve made Curtis into such a whole rounded character when we never even met him on the show. But yeah, this piece is about Curtis, has to go off to Ottawa and while he’s gone he has a heart attack in his car and he dies and we learn how Gus and Nicole and Waverly and Wynonna all react to this.  A lot of this is about Nicole feeling guilty that she feels as bad as Wynonna and Waverly do because she doesn’t think she deserves Curtis as much as they do. She doesn’t believe, at the start anyway, she doesn’t believe that she was one of his girls in the same way, which is heartbreaking. And yeah, I think as difficult as this one was, I think it really cemented Nicole, not that she wasn’t before, but it really cemented Nicole as part of the family.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.

LARAGH: You know, she was one of Curtis’ girls always.

DARKWICCAN: Always.

LARAGH: This was where she stepped up, and she realized that her own biological father was an asshole basically.  And had moved on with a new life, and this was where she was hitching her wagon to and you know, this was her family.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, and gosh I want to say, this story... well there’s a lot going on in this story.  Right before Curtis leaves to meet with his vendor in Ottawa he says goodbye to each of the girls, and goodbye to Gus, and it’s one of those things where [sad laughter] he doesn’t know it’s his last goodbye, they don’t know it’s his last goodbye, but there’s still… Pirate being a very caring and giving author gives us a full and complete last goodbye, something that… it doesn’t leave a sour note.  They each say something to each other, that won’t haunt them you know what I mean? Like, not like one of them was like, “I hate you,” before he slammed the door, you know. They all had a very sweet moment with Curtis before he left. And he gave Nicole, he gave them all a bit of direction, but he gave Nicole an edict, or at least she took it as an edict, that she carried with her for the rest of her life.  And that edict was, “keep them on track”.

LARAGH: “Keep them on track.”

DARKWICCAN: Referring to Waverly and Wynonna.

LARAGH: And she really internalized this.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, and oh man, just watching how she’s trying so hard to care for Waverly and Wynonna, and Gus... and Gus.  Watching her little fourteen, because fourteen is so young, and you don’t appreciate how young you are at fourteen. But you’re young.  And so watching her stay the night with Waverly and Wynonna and letting them cling on to her, and sneaking down the stairs at night to make sure Gus is tucked in, and has her shoes off, and making Gus coffee in the morning and making sure everybody's eating and like, that’s so much.

LARAGH: I’m starting to understand why she has this complex, this insecurity complex, because, wow she really feels like it’s all on her doesn’t she.

DARKWICCAN: She really does, she really does, and it’s just heartbreaking, and to see, you know, now I’m starting to get teary, when she goes to bring Wynonna to the funeral, because Wynonna can’t handle it and she’s run off and Nicole tells Gus, “I’ll find her, I’ll bring her.”  And she allows Wynonna physically whale on her, to try to get some of that pain and those feelings out on her and she rides her back on her bike.

LARAGH: Rides her back on her bike.

DARKWICCAN: And, you know, it’s so painful, seeing them hurt so badly, it hurts me!  It hurts the reader.

LARAGH: If you looked up gut wrenching in the dictionary you would just get a link to this fic.

DARKWICCAN: Oh, one hundred percent. But it’s so beautiful and it really helps you to understand all of them.

LARAGH: It’s really such a pivotal moment in all of their lives.

DARKWICCAN: It is.  Yeah.

LARAGH: And the direction that it takes for each of them.

DARKWICCAN: And again PirateKane coming in with the incredible imagery.  Everything is so cinematic that you just can’t help feel like your watching it and not reading it and it’s so, so good.  

LARAGH: It hurts so good!

DARKWICCAN: So good!  Oh my god. Alright, well from that joyful romp, on to what is essentially the series finale.  Now there has been a little series of one-shot ficlets that has been posted since this story, but this is really the series wrap up. It’s appropriately called “Before I Can Say Goodbye” and this takes place in the fall of 2005...

LARAGH: So we’ve gone from 1979 to 2005.

DARKWICCAN: Yep, and I believe, how old is Nicole here?

LARAGH: I think Nicole is thirty four, I think?  

DARKWICCAN: Probably right.  Again, we can always double check with the author and the beta, but at this time in her life Nicole has been promoted to sheriff of Purgatory, Waverly has been teaching at the high school for almost eleven years now.  And they are stable and happy.

LARAGH: They really are quintessential white picket fence at this point.  They have a dog, they have two steady local jobs, they are a big part of the community.

DARKWICCAN: They are pillars of the community.  The community looks up to them, and how delightful that the community looks up to a lesbian couple, that’s just great.

LARAGH: Yeah, I really thought this finale was like a love letter to this town of Purgatory.

DARKWICCAN: Absolutely, absolutely.

LARAGH: Because it’s a unique Purgatory, it’s so fleshed out and real and the connections are all very real, and it’s, you know, I just thought it was a beautiful way to let us know how Purgatory is going to do even when we leave them.  How they’re gonna get on, and it’s just going to be the same sleepy happy town it always was but with these great, great characters.

DARKWICCAN: Right  I think the town has changed.  It’s gotten older, and there have been issues, something that Pirate has laid out throughout the adult stories is that there are problems with drugs making their way.  And this is something that Nicole has dedicated a lot of her policing career to trying to locate and stem the flow of these drugs into her town and it is of course related to this that we get to the drama of this story.  Nicole is at the end of her shift and being the wonderful kind hearted magnanimous sheriff that she is, she tells one of her new rookies not to worry about making the call on Mrs Dray who has called in with a complaint. Nine times out of ten, in fact I go so far as to say nine point nine times out of ten, it’s raccoons, it’s raccoons getting into her garbage bins, but she calls the police all the time.  So Nicole’s like, “don’t worry about it, I’ll drop by Mrs Dray’s, I’ll take care of the situation, it’s probably just raccoons,” you know, no problem. So she goes to take care of the situation and it’s not a raccoon.

LARAGH: No it is not.

DARKWICCAN: It is not.  It is a character that up until this point we have never seen, I don’t think.  We have only heard about.

LARAGH: We’ve only heard, yes.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, and he is the son of the former dispatcher for the sheriff’s department.  The older son, the eldest son, well really the only son. [Laughter]

LARAGH: Yep.

DARKWICCAN: And he is unfortunately a drug addict, and he is unfortunately completely strung out, and he is further unfortunately, he is armed.  And Nicole gets shot.

LARAGH: Spoiler alert.

DARKWICCAN: Spoiler alert, Nicole gets shot.  But you know what, I don’t really think it’s that much of a spoiler because when you think about it everything in the entire series was building up to this moment.

LARAGH: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: So it’s a bit of an inevitability really, so I don’t know that it’s too much of a spoiler to say.  So then we have, in the back half of this story, is flashbacks, a lot of flashbacks, and we also have Nicole dying for a minute and meeting with those that she’s lost.

LARAGH: Curtis and Linda... and Curtis.

DARKWICCAN: Curtis.

LARAGH: Why? Why?

DARKWICCAN: But of course, it’s going to be okay you guys.  It is a lovely, dramatic, but a lovely ending.

LARAGH: In true Nicole fashion, it has to be dramatic.

DARKWICCAN: It has to be dramatic.  I don’t want to give too much more away, I already gave away the fact that she gets shot, I’m not going to give away what happens after that, so everyone should go check that out.  Again, we’ve only been talking about four in the thirty eight stories in this series so everyone needs to block out some time to sit down and catch up with these stories. But I think we’ve talked about them enough.

LARAGH: I think we could talk about them forever.

DARKWICCAN: We could.

LARAGH: But we have a deadline.

DARKWICCAN: We do have a deadline.  A time limit so let’s move on, let’s get on to our next segment.  Of course we had to bring back PirateKane and the Iamthegaysmurf to talk about  their work on this incredible feat of fanfiction. So we’ll be talking to them after the break but first we have to introduce this week’s 

[CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

 

MUSIC: Instrumental 80s Music by LiveBetter Media

 

DARKWICCAN: And welcome back everybody to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me in her jean jacket and wayfarers is my lovely co-host...

LARAGH: Hey, it’s Laragh.

DARKWICCAN: And we are so excited to have with us once again, almost a year to the day, the amazing, the incomparable, PirateKane and her beta Iamthegaysmurf.  Pirate/Smurf welcome to the show.

PIRATE: Hello

SMURF: Hi 

DARKWICCAN: You sound so happy to be back. [Laughter]

PIRATE: We are, we’re just both dying. 

DARKWICCAN: In fairness to you both, you both have colds.  But you’re literally a continent apart or more from each other so you can’t have given each other these colds.

PIRATE: You’d think that but... transference is a thing right?

SMURF: Yeah, we have kind of a mind meld so...

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, mind meld and apparently immune system meld as well.

LARAGH: Yeah.

DARKWICCAN: Well, I appreciate you both taking time from hacking and sniffling to both come on and chat with us here once again.  It’s really exciting to have you back and to have you on with a co-host at the same time! This is also exciting. Last time I had you two to myself but this time I get to share you with my pal Laragh and I’m really glad because we’ve got a lot to cover my friends.  My goodness! Woah. Thirty eight stories in a series, over six hundred thousand words, you guys, that is such an immense feat. I can’t tell you, my mind is exploding. 

 

PIRATE: Yeah, that was a lot, that was a lot.

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

LARAGH: 

SMURF: Yeah, that is really true.  I think it got a lot bigger than we thought it was going to in the beginning.

PIRATE: So much bigger, so much bigger.

DARKWICCAN: Now did it end up being a full fifty two weeks?  Or was it more?

PIRATE: Forty six weeks.

DARKWICCAN: Wow, that’s still, I mean…

SMURF: We’d made plans for an entire year because we weren’t sure what the date for the premiere of the new season would be so we had a little bit of leeway, so it ended up being forty six fridays in a row, starting with the friday after the finale of season two.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, with the just delightful and wonderful and still to this day one of my all-time favorite fics, “It’s Like I Wrote Every Note With My Own Fingers”.  I still go back and read that fic, I still go back and read it. With relative frequency considering the fact that I have to read every new thing that’s posted on Ao3 so the fact that I still find time to go back and read that story, I think says a lot.

PIRATE:  Says a lot about you maybe.

DARKWICCAN: Okay I think it says a lot about the fic and the quality of the fic and how wonderful it is.

LARAGH: You got called out DW.

DARKWICCAN: It’s okay, they can call me out that’s fine [laughter].  So listen, thirty eight stories, thirty eight. Out of all of them, including that original piece that started it all, which was the most difficult to write.

PIRATE: The difficult one, I know that Smurf’s gonna talk about one of the more difficult ones, well not difficult, Shae, the Shae-pocalypse one.  I know we’re gonna talk about that too, that one comes up after but that was difficult for me to write because by the end even I was rooting for Shae.  I was just like, “why? Nicole this girl is perfect.” [Laughter] But I think the most difficult for me out of all of them was “Someone’s Gotta Draw First Blood” which is really about Nathan and Nicole’s relationship after Nathan’s knee injury.  And I think just because that one came from kind of a personal place with me and my brother so as I kept writing it just kept getting harder and harder to do.

DARKWICCAN: Hmmm.  So you were drawing from a lot of personal experience there.

PIRATE: Yeah, that one was tough.  Whatcha got Smurf?

SMURF: Well we got a lot of them that were pretty emotional but I think the two that were the most difficult for me on a more personal level was the Curt-angst single.  That one was rough to get through. And it was two weeks long. The other one that was a more, like you said with the one with Nathan, the one for me that touched on a more personal level was the one where Nicole’s father came back into town and she had to face all of his homophobia and everything and that one was, that one touched a nerve.  It was hard to get through. It was an important one to tell, we didn’t want to leave it out, but it was also, uh, it was kinda raw, you know. 

DARKWICCAN: Oh yeah.

SMURF: It was kinda rough. 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, that was like a punch to the chest, right to the solar plexus that one.  Especially, you know, because for such a long time when Nicole was a young child she looked up to her father, almost idolized him, and almost wanted to be him, or be like him and make him proud.  And so that was just really… [phew] woof.

SMURF: Yeah, I think a lot of it was that she wanted to make him proud of what she had become in her life and to hear him be so against all the good, all the things that she thinks is really great about who she is, and all these really great relationships.  That was definitely a blow for her.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, oh man.

SMURF: Yeah, because he comes back when she’s an adult, she’s fully an adult and she has her life and it’s established and I think that she thought it was going to be different, now that she wasn’t just a little kid anymore.  You know, she made friends, and she’s got a family and she has this woman that she loves, and she’s got a job that she loves, and all of these things are what makes her feel like she’s really succeeded in life. And he proceeded to pick apart every one of them, her best friend was, “oh it’s that troublemaker” and he didn’t approve of her being a cop because she’s a woman and then of course, the cherry on the top, is she’s found this woman that she loves so much and to him you can’t be in love with a woman.  

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.

SMURF: So it was… she hadn’t seen him in so long, and I think she thought that maybe after all that time if she saw him again, and he saw how happy and successful she’d become things would be different but instead it was just the same old shit, you know.  Worse, even.

PIRATE: It’s like the stage lights went off and he was, like, super ugly. 

DARKWICCAN: Yes, absolutely.  So that was the most difficult, what was the most joyful story to write?

PIRATE: Um, I really enjoyed writing the treasure hunters.

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] Yes.

PIRATE: They’re little, and you know, Wynonna christens the secret hide-out, and they spend the whole afternoon pretending that Wynonna can swim and finding treasure and realising it’s just milkshakes from Curtis.  That was our _ Stand By Me _ , our  _ Goonies _ tribute and that was a lot of fun to write.

DARKWICCAN: That was absolutely delightful.

SMURF: Waverly bringing the canned goods in her backpack, that was one of my favorite parts of that. 

DARKWICCAN: She’s a planner, she’s gotta be prepared.

PIRATE: She had her fluffernutter sandwiches and her canned goods, she’s a boy scout, like let’s be honest. 

DARKWICCAN: Yes, she is the scout, she is.

LARAGH: So, I’m interested to know, outside of Wayhaught, who was your favorite relationship to explore, romantic or otherwise?

PIRATE: Wynonna and Nicole especially would have been my second… they might even have been my first favorite thing to write.  Smurf and I talked about this the other day but they are the second love story of the series, like there’s no doubt about it. And they were… canon in season two gave us such a great jumping off point, I feel like they worked really well together in that second season so we just built on that, and they were so much fun to write but also Mercedes and Nicole...

DARKWICCAN: Yeah [laughs]

PIRATE: I have made every Loverboy joke that I think can possibly be made in this world and I will never get tired of it. 

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] I really enjoyed Mercedes constantly teasing Nicole because it was so easy to rile Nicole up.

PIRATE: Yeah, I don’t know what it is, they just… Yeah, Wynonna and Nicole, and then Mercedes and Nicole.  And Curtis, obviously, and Nicole was a really fun relationship to explore.

LARAGH: Oh Curtis.

PIRATE: I know, I’m sorry, but he’s going to be brought up a few times.

SMURF: Well, he’s really important to the story too.  

DARKWICCAN: We may have started sniffling a little bit in our first segment, talking about Curtis.

PIRATE: Oh man.

SMURF: He has that effect on people doesn’t he.

DARKWICCAN: There might have been tears.

LARAGH: Heavy on the “might”.

DARKWICCAN: How soon into writing the singles did you know how it was going to end?

PIRATE: We always knew it was going to end with that Def Leppard song, right Smurf? 

SMURF: Mmm, yeah.  We were still working on the original fic and “Long, Long Way to Go” came on and we were like, “oh my gosh, can you just see this as the end of their…”

PIRATE: “Can you see the suffering and pain we put them through?”

SMURF: From the very beginning. 

[General laughter]

SMURF: That was kind of how that went actually...

PIRATE: And you know we held on to that one for so long and I know I kind of dug my heels in and was like, “there is no way it cannot end on this song.”

SMURF: Yeah, so pretty much from the beginning it was always on the outline, that that was going to close the series.

DARKWICCAN: How many pages did your outline end up being for this series?

PIRATE: Well, okay, so here’s the thing.  Smurf is meticulous, she plans very, very well.  I think that the singles outline doc was like fourteen pages at one point.  However….

SMURF: Yeah, that was not even all...

PIRATE: However, I am much less meticulous and very much on-the-fly and so I’d be like, “hey Smurf, I know the outline has this one but we’re gonna write this instead.”

[Laughter]

SMURF: Well that list that I made wasn’t supposed to be the order that they were published, I was just trying to keep them chronological so that we could keep track of the jumping back and forth.

PIRATE: Oh, I know.  Thank god for you. 

SMURF: Well, to let you guys know, we had the outline that was ever expanding but we also had a spreadsheet too. 

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

PIRATE: Yes we do.   

DARKWICCAN: I believe it, I believe it.

PIRATE: You don’t even know.

SMURF: Oh yeah, the spreadsheet is color-coded by name, date, main topic, how many years before or after the original fic, and what their ages are, and what grade their in, the whole works.   It’s got so many columns and color-coded cells and the whole bit.

PIRATE: We even had secret columns.  Like what cars people drove when, what motorcycles, what bikes.

DARKWICCAN: Oh my gosh, but yeah, the detail.

SMURF: Well you know, you’re jumping back and forth in a story like that, we had to remember if we’d mentioned it and it happened later and we went back and we’re doing the one where, like, say they got that vehicle we had to remember what we’d already said that they had.  So there’s lists of cars and there’s you know, the whole... watches, stereos…

LARAGH: Shoes!

SMURF: Speakers, yeah, pretty everything that we ever said that they owned is on a list.  So that we would have a reference for it, so that we would know when they got it and what model it was so that when we talked about it later it would be the same one.

PIRATE: Poor Nicole rode Nathan’s hand-me-down bike for so many years because I just couldn’t remember anymore when the hell we gave her whatever we gave her next which is why we made that spreadsheet in the first place.

[Laughter]

LARAGH: So the series really exploded with characters, did you always envision that you were going to end up with such an ensemble?  Or did they just show up along the way?

SMURF: I think at first we knew that they were all going to be present, at least around the edges.  Because a found family is really important theme in the actual show and we wanted to feature it pretty heavily in this universe too.  So, you know, it was important for us to have the whole Scooby gang and the parents and everything there, but I don’t think we realized at first how central to the story they would all end up becoming.  Because every member of the gang ended up being vital to the story in their own way so they sometimes… like the one we did where we focussed on Dolls, and we did one where we focussed on Jeremy a little bit so as we went we tried to pull them in more from being just around the perimeter and being more central into the story.  So I’m pretty pleased with how that all ended up. Because I know we weren’t really thinking it would be like that when we started but it turned out that way.

PIRATE: I agree a lot with that, I think it just lends itself to the idea that this really is a found family because we didn’t start the series out thinking that we were gonna have a Dolls single or a Doc single, or even a Nathan single, a completely made up character.  But, you know, Nicole really did find her family, she was on her own at the start of the series just like she is in the show, you know, her dad took off and her mom’s always working, Nathan didn’t want anything to do with her, like older brothers don’t want anything to do with their little sisters.  And then she decides that she’s going to be friends with this really sour-faced looking girl who refuses to smile.

[Laughter]

PIRATE: It’s almost like she’s walked to the animal shelter and she looks at the meanest dog and goes, “I want THAT one.”

[Laughter]

PIRATE: I don’t mean to compare Wynonna to a dog but you know she, the minute that happened for her her whole world kind of exploded or at least that’s what we tried to show.  We tried to show that she has Curtis now, and she has Gus who complements her mom, and everything falls into place. I know one thing that was important to me, and was important to Smurf was Doc isn’t just Wynonna’s boyfriend, Chrissy isn’t just Waverly’s friend, you know, these characters are central to Nicole’s story and they build who she is.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, absolutely, every single character in this story is completely realised and well-rounded and as you say has such an effect on Nicole’s development and one thing I was talking about in the first half of the show is how everything, you talk about the spreadsheets, and fourteen page outline and color-coded this and that and it’s like I’m so thrilled that that is the level that you went to, not only with the little details like cars and bikes and watches but also the big details, with these characters and their lives that exist beyond what we see on the page with their little glimpses of their interior selves, because what you did is you created, truly, a cinematic universe...

LARAGH: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: Where as we’re reading these stories it’s not so much that we’re reading these stories, it’s more like we’re watching these stories happen and it’s all so vivid and I think that’s part of why so many people feel so strongly about this series.  Because it’s like, it truly is an experience and it’s something that we have seen as well as read.

PIRATE: We like the details.

LARAGH: We like the details too.

DARKWICCAN: And speaking in a way about details, both macro and micro, all of the glimpses into Nicole’s life that you gave us across these thirty eight stories, which ones were you the most excited to share with us.

PIRATE: The one that I think I liked sharing the most was, “At This Moment You Mean Everything,” where Nicole tells Wynonna her big secret that she likes girls.  And after that disastrous pool party where she almost got forced to admit that she liked Kirk Cameron.

[General laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Well, liking girls is so much easier to deal with than liking Kirk Cameron.

PIRATE: Well I watched Growing Pains a lot when I was younger and I could see a little bit of the appeal but eh.

[Laughter]

PIRATE: Anyways, anyways… I think that one was just so important because you know, we wrote it so we knew Wynonna was going to be crazy supportive anyways.  But I think working Curtis into that as well, I don’t think it was the most exciting but I was the most eager to share it because not everybody gets that kind of safety net when they breathe that truth out for the first time.  And it was our way of saying, “here it is, you guys get the safety net too, you get to watch Nicole fall and watch Wynonna catch her and watch her walk down the stairs and Curtis is right there to catch her a second time.” And I think that Wynonna showing her that she’s not so different after all, that she still loves… that she’s still the person that Wynonna loves in her own Wynonna way and Curtis is still proud of her no matter what she does.  It just felt like you could give back to people in a way? And I know that both of us were really excited to put that one out there, and eager to give that to people.

SMURF: I know you’re probably gonna want to crucify me for this but I think for me one of the ones I was most looking forward to sharing was the Shae-pocalypse.

DARKWICCAN: Oh, I could see that, I could see that.

PIRATE:  She was evilly excited to name that one and also spread it out into the world.

DARKWICCAN: But, I can totally see that though, because everybody was waiting for that.

SMURF: I know, that was my fault.  I just, I… I feel like it was a really important turning point in all of their lives but I mean, especially for Nicole, but for all of them really because besides it being a chance for Wynonna to show that she really and truly did support and accept Nicole, because they had their big talk up on the roof but it’s a little different when you’re just talking about it to when you’re actually with a girlfriend for the first time and then you see how your friends react to that.  But of course you know Wynonna was completely supportive and actually helped get them together, and Doc too. But she also experienced her first heartbreak which is not fun but it’s also something that we all go through. And I think it opens our eyes a little as to how we view things from then on, you know, because we’ve been through that once now. But I think also over all, you know, it’s solidified her feelings for Waverly because it made her realize that it wasn’t some passing crush, even with this really great perfect girl right there for her, she realized that Waverly really was the one for her.  And I think that was a big deal for Nicole because, you know, it wasn’t just this thing in the back of her mind anymore. It’s real now, she really has these feelings for Waverly. Of course she can’t tell her yet. But I think it really, kind of, shaped the way she behaved, the way she lived going forward from that moment. It was just an important one. But you know another thing though, it was also really important for both of us for Shae to not have been a villain...

LARAGH: Yeah, yeah, I appreciate that.

SMURF: I think sometimes she shows up in stories where she’s like this really bad villain and we didn’t want that at all.  It was just maybe at a different time in a different circumstance situation. It was nobody’s fault and we knew eventually it would have to end but it was really important to us that it ended on good terms with them.  So I don’t know, yes, I was very excited to share the Shae-pocalypse, that was one of my ones I was looking forward to sharing the most.

DARKWICCAN: I honestly, I’m with you there.  I was very excited for the Shae-pocalypse because I knew it was coming, because I wanted to see what was going to happen.  And like Laragh said I also very much appreciate that you made Shae a human being and like you said, if not for the circumstances may be that in another life the circumstances might have worked out for the pair of them and as you said, yeah,  because that was something we got canonically from the series and that was something I really appreciated from the series too, that Shae wasn’t this shrew or this horrible, evil person. She was just this, you know, a person and she had feelings and she wasn’t bad but she also recognized when their time was done and didn’t try to make, you know, facilitate something that wasn’t supposed to… yeah.

PIRATE: Yeah yeah, Waverly makes her feel like “Love Walks In” you know.  You can’t fight with that. 

LARAGH: Okay so, when you were finishing up the finale, what was it like when you had that moment where it was actually finished, when that last word written and edited and all of that sort of stuff and you were ready to say, “right, this has ended.”  What was that like?

PIRATE: Yeah, this is one of those questions that’s like, emotional is the word that Smurf’s gonna use.  You go ahead Smurf, I’ve gotta collect my thoughts.

SMURF: Well, actually, you know, I say emotional but I don’t think that even begins to, that doesn’t even begin to cover it really.  I was… man, I was definitely feeling some kinda way. It was… I mean, you guys have to understand, we were living and breathing this universe for a year, you know, like literally that’s everything we were doing we were like, “oh, we should do one of these” or “oh let’s talk about that” or you know, and it really, when it was time to do that last one it really felt like an era was coming to an end and my feelings were definitely all over the place about it. You guys can ask my wife, I was definitely a mess about it for a while.  She just kept, just like, “what’s wrong” and I was like, “it’s over, it’s over.’ You know but, I don’t know, I still get emotional about it now when we stop and think about it, you know. It’s one of those things where there is a piece of my heart that is always going to live in that world. From now until the rest of forever, no matter how many years pass by that’s never going to change. It’s this really big thing that we created together, you know, you spend that much time in a world like that and you feel like you really know the character, you’ve met them, or you’ve hung out with them at The Patch or whatever.  And, you know, I don’t think that’s ever going to go away now. It’s something that’s a part of, it’s a part of me now, it’s always going to be.

PIRATE: Yeah, I don’t think it hit me until I posted that last chapter, that last single, um.  So forty six weeks I used to post just before I left work, so like four pm my time I’d hit post and I’d hide in my car and I’d run away and hide from the rest of the world.  You know, I wouldn’t check anything, I wouldn’t make sure, I didn’t want to know how people were going to react to it because I wasn’t sure how I was going to react to it. It was kind of like when I left college and I was putting all my stuff in the car and then I had to say goodbye to the people I’d spent four years living with, um, it just, I drove home in silence that day and I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that we weren’t going to do a next one.  We would, I’d post on friday and then I’d message Smurf and be like, “okay, what are we thinking for the next one?” And there wasn’t that on that last day, it was just kind of like nothing happens after this. Nothing in this world happens after this, that was the last thing. You know as Smurf said, we lived in it for forty six weeks, I mean longer because we were planning it out before we posted the first mixtape but we slept and we ate and we breathed mixtape.  If I wasn’t writing I was messaging her about what we were going to write next. So having that kind of time afterwards, was just like an emptiness that came along with it. When you’re kind of in the middle of something and you step outside of it and you realise you were in this perfect little bubble for so long, it’s the kind of loss that I don’t think either of us can put into words very well. We do a lot of like....

DARKWICCAN: You’re in mourning.

PIRATE: A little.  It’s a very big sense of loss.  That world’s always gonna exist but we’re no longer… yeah, we’re no longer living it like we used to.  We’re definitely still there but I consider myself a little bit more of a tourist than a full-timer if that makes any sense.  Because I don’t think I’ll be ever able to get back into that dive dive dive, deep deep dive.

SMURF: Not the way that we were.

PIRATE: It’s really difficult to put into words, I really hated this question so much.

[Laughter]

LARAGH: I’m sorry.

SMURF: That’s right though.  We can always go back and visit it again but it’s never gonna be quite the same as when we were living there. 

PIRATE: It’s like when you move out of your childhood home.  I can go back there, I go back to my parent’s house all the freaking time but that’s not my room anymore, you know what I mean.  It’s my brother’s room now. But I spent my whole life living there and it’s just… it’s so difficult. 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.  

PIRATE: I think everybody knows that feeling, but I don’t know many people who’ve been able to put it eloquently.

DARKWICCAN: I think you put it just fine, I think you put it just fine. 

PIRATE: That was word vomit.

SMURF: We make words all the time but we’re not really making them very well right now.

PIRATE: I know, this happens, where we’re like we get asked to talk and we sound like we’ve never done it before, what’s up with that?

DARKWICCAN: Well, there’s a difference between speaking and writing.  Well, Pirate, Smurf, thank you so much for joining us once again to chat about this incredible undertaking that you have accomplished.  It is truly the most spectacular feat of fic that I have ever witnessed in my many, many, many, many years involved in the fanfiction world, so I am applauding you and you can’t tell but I’m standing at the same time so standing ovation to you both.  And last time you were on you got the very first desert island fic question so you don’t get that again.

SMURF: That’s good.

DARKWICCAN: Just for you guys we came up with a different final question for you and since I had you to myself last time and was able to ask the final question, since I’m not alone this time I’m going to ask my delightful co-host Laragh to ask you instead.

LARAGH: If you could write Wayhaught into any other AU what would it be and why?

PIRATE: Smurf?

SMURF: Oh, you want me to go first?

PIRATE: Yeah, take the mic.

SMURF: Um, okay here’s the thing, I have a couple of AUs that I’m actively working on at the moment, like outlining and starting to write.  So I’m not going to discuss either of those because I don’t want to jinx them, but setting those aside I will say that I have plans to eventually explore an AU set in Victorian London that centers around a Jack The Ripper style case.  But [several inaudible words] because I have a pretty strict no spoiler policy.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, cool.

PIRATE: But on the other hand…

SMURF: So that’s something you can look forward to, at some point.  And as for the why, well, Jack the Ripper is something that I’ve studied a lot, obviously when I was at school, but I also have a hobby of it.  So I wanted to write something where they were involved in a case kind of similar to that, in that time period, not like a modern thing. I wanted to do it back then, anyway, that’s all I’m going to say because no spoilers from me. 

DARKWICCAN: Okay, sounds great!

PIRATE: She says from her very purposefully because I don’t give a shit about spoilers.  

[Laughter]

PIRATE: No but I didn’t know, I couldn’t think of anything, but Smurf has… I’ve never met anybody whose brain can retain so much information.  Because I don’t have... 

SMURF: Sorry.

PIRATE: No it’s great, and then she went and into her chat logs and found all the things I had outlined for this fic which is fantastic because I didn’t remember a single lick of it. I have a Chopped AU outlined. 

[General laughter]

LARAGH: I will read the hell out of that.

PIRATE: Yeah, so it includes things like Jeremy swooning over Judge Doc Holliday.  Nicole cutting onions without looking to impress Waverly.

DARKWICCAN: Oh my god.

PIRATE: And Nedley, also a judge, just demanding a meat and potatoes dish for god’s sakes. 

[Laughter]

PIRATE: And someday it will be written, I don’t know when that day will be, but someday.

LARAGH: Amazing.

DARKWICCAN: That’s exciting.  Well, I’m sure that all of our listeners are very excited for whenever those somedays roll around.  Pirate, Smurf, thank you so much for joining us and I am utterly excited to see whatever else you’re working on that will grace the Wayhaught fic boards in the future.

PIRATE: Thanks for having us.

DARKWICCAN: And that's it for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for tuning in.

Thanks also to PirateKane and Iamthegaysmurf for chatting to us about the 80s Mixtape AU.   
  
Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.   
  
Background music for the episode was:   
  
A Proper Story by Darren Korb   
  
Rail Hoppin by Ryan Ike

  
Instrumental 80’s Music from LiveBetter Media

  
and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan   
  
  
If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast.    
  
And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.   
  
And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.   
  
  
Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
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> 
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	7. I See Your True Colors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DarkWiccan and Delayne parade around in their rainbow onesies as they discuss the vibrant soulmate AU 'Colors' by onlywordsnow!

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/i-see-your-true-colors)

 

Read the Fic!

'[Colors](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12108012)' by onlywordsnow

 

Episode artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

Onlywordsnow's Desert Island Fic: '[One-Eighty](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11340672)' by sensitive_pigeon.

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [MrsBlueBacon](https://twitter.com/MrsBlueBacon)

 

EFA Episode 207- I See Your True Colors

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy and welcome everybody to this week’s episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to _Wynonna Earp_ fanfiction. I am your host DarkWiccan and with me, in her technicolor onesie is my fantastic co-host--

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] And, and I have to confess something Delayne. Guess what?

 

DELAYNE : What?

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m wearing a rainbow onesie, too.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Technicolor onesie.

 

DARKWICCAN : Technicolor, yes. It’s vibrant. It’s very warm. My office is quite, quite chilly this time of year in the Pacific Northwest.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] My office is chilly because it’s next to a giant cooler.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, when you send me photos of you, like, bundled up in like six layers in the middle of July. I’m all, “wait a minute.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I geared up for the freezer earlier today, and uh, yeah. I was laughed at.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] But, ya know what, you gotta stay warm.

 

DELAYNE : Uh. I was, yeah. The weather here throws me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, Southern California weather is funky.

 

DELAYNE : Well, I’m on the central coast, so when people are actually having extremes, I’m like “static”.

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re stuck in the middle.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Literally.

 

DELAYNE : They’re like “oh it’s so hot” and I’m like “it’s seventy” and they’re like “oh it’s so cold” and I’m like “it’s seventy”.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] But anyway, back to our fantastic outfits.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : There is a reason why we are decked out in such wonderfully colorful, colorful colors.

 

DELAYNE : Is it ‘cause we’re talking about something about colors?

 

DARKWICCAN : It is! It is! It’s all related. No conspiracy theory, it’s all fact. [whispers] Everything is related.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, so this week we decided to talk about a soulmate fic. And we’ve talked about soulmate fics in the show before, uh, but this soulmate fic has the unique quality of, that everyone sees the world in black and white until they meet their soulmate and then they see the world in color. Like that’s the gift that soulmates give each other. Apart from love and companionship and all that jazz.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] All the regular stuff that soulmates give.

 

DARKWICCAN : All the regular stuff. Yeah. And so this story is appropriately called “Colors”. And it’s by onlywordsnow. But before we dive into talking about this, I think we need to kinda, quickly kinda run through all the various types of soulmate fic that we’ve sorta stumbled across.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah. ‘Cause we’ve actually had an episode, last season, where we talked about a few, um, and there was definitely a variety. None of them were the same. Even the one that we interviewed, it all, it had separate parts to it and none of them were the same either.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, exactly, um, there is so many different ways that you can tackle this whole soulmates thing. I think that the um, one of the more popular ones that we’ve seen is the, the writing on skin, or the soulmate tattoo.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, tattoo.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that seems to be pretty popular.

 

DELAYNE : And of course, even just within that there’s different...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ..whether it’s a symbol or a name or a date or, ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and not only that, it’s like when does the tattoo appear. Are you born with it, or does it appear when you meet your soulmate?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know, like there are all these different twists on it, uh, and then there were the soulmate stories by HaughtPocket that we talked about, where it was a variety of different situations and any number of reasons why, or what, what concludes, ya know, who’s whose soulmate.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, something very, very specific. Very much defines clearly states as “hey this is your soulmate”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that is the thing that runs throughout all of the different types of soulmate fics. Is that it is a very clear, no question, this, once this happens you have found your soulmate type situation. Which makes this story, “Colors”, even more interesting.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Because Waverly and Nicole don’t know that they’re each other’s soulmates even though they are each other’s soulmates because of the circumstances surrounding their first meeting. They weren’t looking at each other to know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, Nicole got a better look at Waverly. No, that’s not true. They really didn’t see each other. Nicole just saw a curtain of brown hair.

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : And Waverly’s head was down and she was crying and her eyes were basically closed, so. Yeah, they had no idea that they were soulmates.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s so unique ‘cause that’s normally not the case in these stories. Normally it’s like you meet, and it’s like [singing] “ahhhhhh”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Your eyes meet and then the world becomes, um, the land of Oz.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, the world totally makes sense. Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, so, and it makes you wonder in this world, like how often does this seem to happen where, ya know, they meet but don’t know.

 

DARKWICCAN : It feels like it’s a rare enough occurrence that there are, one of the story elements is that there are new laws being put in place where it’ll be illegal to be with someone who is not your soulmate, romantically.

 

DELAYNE : I know. Oh my gosh, that’s scary.

 

DARKWICCAN : So that tells me. That is really scary. That’s like Trumpian man. Like what the hell is that?

 

DELAYNE :[laughter] Right?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that’s an element that pops up near to the middle, late middle half of the story, um, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And it’s like, wait a minute, that doesn’t seem fair. Like there have got to be people out there who haven’t found or who never will find their soulmate, ‘cause their soulmate could be on the opposite side of the globe from them and they’ll never cross paths.

 

DELAYNE : Uh. It’s frightening.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is. Yeah, it is.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But back to the happier circumstances, when we first.

 

DARKWICCAN : The happier parts, yes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] So, Nicole shows up into town as a newly deputized deputy of the sheriff’s department.

 

DARKWICCAN : Similar to canon. Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. And I love that she’s looking at this outfit, of her uniform, going “someone who sees only in black and white must have put this together.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] It’s not that bad of a color combo.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, well, I’m assuming that it’s not exactly canon and that maybe there’s  just enough slight differences where it clashes a little more. That’s what I pictured anyway.

 

DARKWICCAN : It must  because at one point Nicole injures herself and she ends up in a cast on her hand, and the cast has that colorful wrap on it and Waverly picks it out for her and it’s a navy blue and the narration says that the color of the cast clashes horribly with the blue of her shirt and since I kind of feel like, and again, there’s gonna be color purists, or people with far better color vision than me, even though I’ve tested pretty high at being able to identify colors, um. That Nicole’s original, original uniform shirt was a near as damnit shade of navy blue. Near, not exact, but near it. So when it says in the narration that her navy blue cast clashes horribly with the blue of her uniform. I’m like “what color is this shirt?” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I… [laughter] But Waverly does say that Nicole looks good in blue, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I am definitely not a color purist when I dress myself. It’s varying shades of blue and they probably clash, I don’t care.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, it’s like I, one thing that really struck me, made me cock my head to the side like Kat Barrell doing a puppy impression is that...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Sorry, image in my brain. Way to derail me and probably everyone listening here.

 

DARKWICCAN : Sorry listeners.

 

DELAYNE : We’re all picturing Kat Barrell.

 

DARKWICCAN : Everybody get back on the train. [laughter] So, one thing that kinda made me cock my head to the side is, wait a minute ok, so, Waverly and Nicole are so convinced that they are not each other’s soulmates, and I don’t understand why. Because they’re both capable of seeing color, but they’re both single. Neither of them have found that person, and once Waverly confesses that she’s been able to see color from a very, very young age, just like Nicole has. First of all, I’m like “seriously Nicole, you didn’t twig on that memory?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : “Really, ok?”

 

DELAYNE : Well, she moved around a lot, and I don’t know what that’s like, but I would imagine.

 

DARKWICCAN : See, but I do know what that’s like. I do know what that’s like because I moved around a lot as a kid.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, and so, I remember profound moments from my youth, going back to when I was three and four years old. And...

 

DELAYNE : Huh.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...so to me, it’s like if one moment you’re seeing in black and white and the next moment you’re seeing color, and the only thing that you can correlate it to is the time when you were in a park and there was this kid sitting next to you, then, yeah. It’s a vivid memory. Literally.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s a vivid memory. So, when very early on in their initial friendship, Waverly confides in Nicole that when she was a little girl, sitting in the park that they’re sitting in at that moment, she suddenly was able to see color for the first time, but she didn’t know, didn’t see her soulmate’s face. And it’s just like, really Nicole? You’re not gonna twig on that and go “[boing sound] oh, wait a minute.” Of course, that would make for a very short fic, but...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...it just kind of struck me as a little odd that she wouldn’t remember that, or she wouldn’t share her own story of when she was suddenly able to see color and then they would kind of...

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...correlate and go “wait a minute.” But even so, I still found it really. So, we’ll give a pass on the forgetful childhood, but I still am like why were they so convinced they weren’t each other’s soulmates when they had such a strong connection, and neither of them were attached to anyone else, and they both had gained the ability to see color when they were children. So, is it just because Nicole was so convinced she hadn’t met Waverly as a child, which then makes me further confused. There’s a lot of confu...I got questions and I’m looking forward to being able to ask, Delayne, is what I’m saying.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ok, but you’re getting a little ahead.

 

DARKWICCAN : I am getting ahead, I’ll slow down.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Take a deep breath.

 

DARKWICCAN : [deep breath sound]

 

DELAYNE : Ok. Gaze into your colorful onesie.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s so colorful.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m gazing at the serene blue.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I feel like, another thing that I thought was really interesting was how Nicole immediately notices that people in the town keep trying to get her and Waverly to spend time together.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, there’s sort of two parts to that. Especially Randy. Which, now we’ve gotten to a chapter that sort of explains that a little more. Why Randy, in particular, was like, “hey, you should take her to her favorite restaurant.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, that was subtle as a brick through a window. What the frick?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] She was like “oh, I’m gonna get yelled at. Wait. What?”

 

DARKWICCAN : Wait a second?

 

DELAYNE : “You’re telling me to take her on a date? Uh?” Yeah, that was great. But then the other part with the town always staring. Yeah, it’s a small town, and it’s like well, here’s this new person, and then this new person is getting close to Waverly and that seems a little weird ‘cause I’m guessing everyone knows Waverly can see in color.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, it’s very confusing, but does anyone know that Nicole can see in color? Or has she only told Waverly?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, you’re right, I don’t think there’s a moment where...

 

DELAYNE : Anyone comments or otherwise knows...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : So, it’s just an assumption. Who knows? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t know. I don’t know. But something we haven’t really talked about, despite the fact that the story is called “Colors”. Is we haven’t talked about the meaning of colors.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, right, ‘cause the title of each chapter is a color.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. And, I feel like onlywordsnow correlated some of the potential meanings of these colors to the content of the chapters. Could be wrong. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But I just feel like that’s what’s going on here.

 

DELAYNE : Right, ‘cause after I noticed, ‘cause I didn’t notice right away that the chapters were named after colors. Uh, is I started to see if there was something about that color that stood out, but um, I was later in the chapters and I had not noticed any correlation.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : But, I wasn’t looking that hard either.

 

DARKWICCAN : Fair. Fair. Well, ok, let’s, let’s break it down a little bit.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, this story is meant to be eleven chapters long. We’re currently on chapter nine. It has been on a bit of a hiatus for awhile, but that’s ok. Writing is hard.

 

DELAYNE : It happens.

 

DARKWICCAN : It happens. But the nine colors we have so far are green, purple, red, blue, orange, grey, yellow, pink, and black. And, so, green, which is chapter one. One of the meanings of green is growth and environment. Also, life, healing, safety, relaxation, and oddly, freshness. So...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I think that just relates to...

 

DELAYNE : And money as well.

 

DARKWICCAN : And money as well, ‘cause green. But of those meanings, I think what works with this chapter the most as far as correlation is environment, growth, life, possibly healing, but this really is the first chapter where Nicole is moving into Purgatory, so that’s environment change. Growth as a person.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : She has accepted her first position. It’s also when we find out about her seeing color for the first time as a child and that’s her introduction.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, that’s life and growth as well. So I think those correlate there. I could be stretchin’. I could be stretchin’.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But I think that’s what’s goin’ on. Chapter two is purple, and that has many, all of these have many different meanings. Among them, though, is vision and passion and dignity. And again, I think we can tie that to elements that occurred in the second chapter including Nicole, more or less, coming to Waverly’s aid. One punch late, but more or less, coming to Waverly’s aid. That’s definitely...

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. And the next chapter is red. And red has got these really strong emotions attached to it. Ya know, danger, passion, daring, romance, excitement, urgency, energy, and style?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But I feel like danger, definitely plays into this because this is the chapter where I believe they go out for coffee the first time and there is definitely that feeling of, isn’t that the coffee chapter? Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Um, it appears to be...

 

DARKWICCAN : Waverly brings her coffee.

 

DELAYNE : ...after. Yeah, it’s, uh, ‘cause it starts off with Waverly is still feeling the warmth of Nicole’s jacket...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, ok, so the coffee was in chapter two, ok.

 

DELAYNE : ...when she gave it to her.

 

DARKWICCAN : But she still brings Nicole coffee, but that doesn’t matter. So, but really, what else is happening in this chapter? They um, they’re connection is growing stronger which can be dangerous if they’re not actually soulmates. And, uh, there’s definitely an element of romance that’s starting to seep into their interactions.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] This is the one where they put their hands in the concrete.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That was very sweet.

 

DARKWICCAN : That was very sweet. Yeah, so, ya know, we’ve got that, so that’s very daring, right.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s daring, it’s dangerous, it’s romantic. There is an element of excitement. So, there’s that. The next chapter is blue, and blue is peace, stability, calmness, confidence, tranquility, sincerity, affection, and integrity.

 

DELAYNE : This one starts out with uh, Nedley.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : Wanted to have a word with her, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, where he kinda goes, “you know, you should make friends with this Waverly. Here’s a good restaurant.” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Like, that’s pretty leading.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but this is also the chapter where Waverly tells of her history of being able to see color for the first time, uh, to Nicole. And still, I’m like “why didn’t she twig into something there?” It’s ok, I’m fine. I’m cool.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But, I think...

 

DELAYNE : They go for ice cream.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, they go for ice cream, in the dead of winter in Purgatory.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Hey, I am, in one of my science classes, my professor was very adamant that ice cream makes you warmer. Because, ice cream is calories [laughter] and calories provide heat, so therefore ice cream is perfectly acceptable in the winter time.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, I’ve got no problem with having ice cream in the winter time. Uh, my wife and I recently went to see a concert in Seattle, and walking back to our car we passed by a very famous ice cream shop and I said “do you want ice cream?” she said “yes, I want ice cream.” And so we were walking in like forty degree [farenheit] weather eating ice cream.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And ya know what? I will say this, when you take something in that’s that cold, your body kinda works to warm yourself, your internal bits up, so at least your internal organs are warm.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : However, your skin and your nose are still cold. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Uh, but this was also a really cute chapter because Wavelry brings Nicole lunch and, of course, there’s pickles involved.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And Nicole tries to pretend like she likes pickles, but Waverly, to her credit, immediately sees through that.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I really like the way that they reused that scene. It is fantastic.

 

DARKWICCAN : I am a huge fan of a good reclamation. Give me a great reclaimed moment, and uh, fit it in seamlessly and make it part of the, ya know, world that you’re writing and I am just all for it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Agree.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, the next chapter is orange, and orange can mean health, attraction, stand out, thirst, eyebrow waggle that you can’t see. I’m waggling my eyebrows.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Wealth, youthful, and happiness. Uh, ok, so this is the first chapter where they really admit their feelings for each other, and, so there is some attraction, there is some thirstiness, there is definitely happiness, and I’m sure they’re probably other meanings having to do with orange that I’m not familiar with, but uh, yeah. So, I think that correlates pretty nicely.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : After that, is grey. And, grey, actually isn’t a bad color. Uh, ya know, it implies stability, security, strength of character, authority, and maturity. So, ya know, that’s not a bad color. Most people think grey, they’re like “oh, that’s a depressing color”. No, it’s actually a very good color.

 

DELAYNE : It’s boring and dull.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. It’s stable. It is a stable color.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, it’s one of my wife’s favorite colors, actually, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s a good color. It goes with most things, but in this, this is the one where she socks Champ in the nose right?

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Yep.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, then doesn’t take care of it, and this is when Nedley sends her to the hospital to get it looked at.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think strength of character, maybe, is what the correlation here is.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Also, authority. Uh, possibly. And again, this is all conjecture on our parts, but I mean, there’s got to be a reason why, ya know, onlywordsnow chose to name each chapter after a color. There has to be a reason.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : After...

 

DELAYNE : I certainly hope so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I hope so too. Then comes yellow. Yellow is joy, cheerfulness, friendliness, intellect, energy, warmth, caution, and cowardice. On the other end of the spectrum.

 

DELAYNE : This is where we learned from Dolls, Dolls appears. This is where we learn about how the government is gonna start makin’ some rules.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yes. Black Badge Division has been set up by the government to enforce soulmate laws.

 

DELAYNE : Ugh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ugh, that’s really terrifying. And it puts a lot of pressure on this very young relationship because Dolls tells Nicole, “hey listen, you should probably wife her up real quick” referring to Waverly, because anyone who is already married, whether or not they’re soulmates, will be grandfathered in before the new laws take effect. It’s like woah woah woah woah.

 

DELAYNE : That’s a lot.

 

DARKWICCAN : That is a lot. That is a lot. And of course, Nicole being noble and wanting to do the right thing and not wanting to trap Waverly in a relationship where she might actually have a soulmate out there. Jesus Christ Nicole, catch a clue.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, so that’s when we first learn of this. So, I don’t know what might correlate here because, maybe...

 

DELAYNE : Maybe caution.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...caution. Yeah, it’s gotta be caution. It has to be. Has to be. So, so yeah, I think that correlates to that chapter. And chapter eight is pink. And pink means romance, compassion, faithfulness, beauty, love, friendship, and sensitivity. I think. Hmm. What do you think? What do you think chapter eight here?

 

DELAYNE : Uh, well, we encounter Champ again, so that is…[laughter] Uh, and they escape though. They’re like “forget this, I’m outta here.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. And unfortunately discover that, Xavier, or Dolls, is hanging out at the homestead because we find out something interesting about Wynonna’s soulmate situation.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Which I’m not gonna give away.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Let’s just say it’s complicated.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s complicated.

 

DELAYNE : Which, Wynonna herself, says multiple times.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. When is it not complicated when it comes to Wynonna?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Her name is Wynonna Complicated Earp.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] This is actually one thing that, um, I wouldn’t have minded seeing more, in terms of world building in this story. Is more of that background of Wynonna and just what else is going on.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. And how can you enforce a soulmate law in a situation like Wynonna’s? Ya know what I mean?

 

DELAYNE : Right?

 

DARKWICCAN : Like that’s unique.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That is really unique. So, anyway.

 

DELAYNE : Anyway.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nicole starts having doubts. She starts really worrying about the situation, and as she’s kind of mulling things over in her mind, Waverly, wild Waverly appears...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...at her office. At the sheriff’s office.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I frickin’ love that, “a wild Waverly”.

 

DARKWICCAN : And distracts Nicole before Nicole can really say anything and they get into a...

 

DELAYNE : Because she’s made up her mind. She’s made up her mind she’s gonna not put Waverly through this anymore.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And, yeah, and then, like you said, a wild Waverly appears, and that plan goes out the window.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] So, I’m wondering if, what in pink here could really…? Sensitivity? Possibly. In a way faithfulness as well, and friendship, compassion. Yeah, that ties in. Yeah, ok, I’m callin’ it.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, ok. And then finally, the last chapter that has been posted so far, out of eleven, is chapter nine and that is the color black. And, once again, black is not a bad color, necessarily. It can mean sophistication, power, mystery, formality. Unfortunately, also evil and death, but we’re not gonna worry about those.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I think in this case black relates to mystery. And the solving of certain mysteries. And, once again, boy I worry about Nicole becoming a detective at some point in her career because she’s basically got Randy leading her by the nose trying to get her the information she needs to understand that she and Waverly are, in fact, soulmates, and she just can’t seem to put two and two together. Whereas Waverly stumbles upon some very compelling evidence that she didn’t even mean to find. Uh, she wasn’t even looking for it.

 

DELAYNE : Right?

 

DARKWICCAN : That suddenly kind of causes her to catch that damn clue that we’ve been waiting for them to catch, and that is where we have left off.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. A nice cliffhanger because Nicole finally said what she thought she needed to say and then Waverly found the evidence.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Yep.

 

DELAYNE : On a VHS. Since she’s looking for a VCR.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey, I still have a VCR, a VHS player in my. I, I, yeah. I got a lot of videos I gotta transfer to digital, man.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : I keep that VCR around.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Same, but not everyone has access to a VCR.

 

DARKWICCAN : True true. But anyways, so, so that’s pretty much where we are at this point. And as I’ve been very clear by me saying it over and over again, I’s [ph] gots [sic] questions.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That I’m really looking forward to asking the author, onlywordsnow, they are our guest for the second segment today, so I’m very excited to get to that. We have run out of time in this first segment, so Delayne, quickly, tell us who’s our [CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

 

MUSIC : Heart of the Forest by Alec Holowka

 

DARKWICCAN : And welcome back everybody to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to _Wynonna Earp_ fanfiction. I am still your host DarkWiccan, and still with me bedecked in her colorful onesie is my cohost--

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And joining us to talk about the delightful and romantic and very mysterious in some cases, uh, soulmate AU fic, “Colors”, is the wonderful author onlywordsnow. Do you have another name we’d like to call you, onlywordsnow, or...

 

DANYEL : You can call me Danyel.

 

DARKWICCAN : Danyel. Well alright Danyel, thank you so much for comin’ on the show.

 

DANYEL : Uh, you’re welcome and thank you for having me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely. This is one of those soulmate stories that, ‘cause I mean there are quite a few soulmate fics in the WayHaught fic fandom and I think that’s just because, well, they are canon soulmates.

 

DELAYNE : Right? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But even before that was confirmed on the show, there was that very clear inkling that that’s the direction things were going. And I mean, look at the two of them. They’re obviously soulmates, right? So it’s a very popular subgenre that fics kind of occupy in fandom, but yours is incredibly unique um, not only for how you tackle the whole soulmate angle and what identifies soulmates, uh, but also just the incredibly high quality of your writing in the story. So, this is an absolute treat to have you on chatting with us so we can pin you down, corner you, and ask you the hard questions.

 

DANYEL : Alright.

 

DARKWICCAN : How did you get into writing fanfiction?

 

DANYEL : Uh, well, this is kind of a sad story, but um, whenever I was in high school, uh, my mom was sick and so I had a lot of free time. And I started reading it and then I just was like “oh, ya know, I should start writing it”, but uh, before that I think the first story that I wrote was from Mickey Mantle’s point of view, so that was probably in the fifth grade. I guess I always was gonna write fanfiction.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] What?

 

DARKWICCAN : What? So, was the for a report you had to do. You had to do a POV from a famous figure?

 

DANYEL : No, that was the day that we, we learned out to have techniques when writing, and I was like “great let me just try this”. Then my mom was like “oh my god I’m gonna print it out and frame it”. It’s like “wow, ok, thanks”.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Like a proud mom should.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely. So what other fandoms have you written for?

 

DANYEL : _FRIENDS_ fandom, um, and then I did some for _ER_ , some for _Grey’s Anatomy_.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, nice. You’re a fan of TBS, it sounds like.

 

DANYEL : Great, they should hire me.

 

DARKWICCAN : They really should, they absolutely should.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I completely agree. So, so, ok, so you’re hanging out on TBS, but what brought you to the _Wynonna Earp_...

 

DANYEL : [cough]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...the _Wynonna Earp_ show. [sarcastic sound]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : What brought you to _Wynonna Earp_?

 

DANYEL : Uh, so, I was really, really, really resistant to watch it because I don’t, I’m not a big fan of westerns, so I kept popping on my Netflix, and I was like “oh god, it’s under the western category, not gonna happen”. So, it probably took me quite awhile. I don’t even remember why I was just like “fine, alright, let’s just do it”. So, I watched it on Netflix and it was not really a western.

 

DARKWICCAN : No.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : In my opinion.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s not. Nope. I agree with you there.

 

DELAYNE : I’ve seen it categorized as like sci-fi western, so they must have just left out the sci-fi part.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : And yeah, that would throw me too.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I’ve seen it categorized as sci-fi, and um, shows with a strong female lead.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : I guess they...

 

DELAYNE : I think that’s how it pops up on mine too, yeah.

 

DANYEL : They must have revamped it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DANYEL : Or I had some special Netflix.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, how, um, how quickly did you catch up on the show once you started watching it and realized that it was not a, a western?

 

DANYEL : Pretty quickly. Umm, I’m pretty sure I watched probably the whole thing, I’m trying to remember which episode that I watched live. I think it was two oh five was the first one that I watched live, and I finished two oh four two hours before that aired. So, it’s pretty good timing.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s awesome. It seems like that’s the trend with this show. That people sit down and watch it on Netflix. They’re like “oh I’ll check out an episode”. Eighteen hours later.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : Yeah. Glad I did wait for eighteen full hours, but yeah it was probably two days.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Sounds about right.

 

DANYEL : When I go, I go hard.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : That’s the _Wynonna Earp_ way.

 

DARKWICCAN : That is totally the _Wynonna Earp_ way, absolutely. So, so when you are sitting down and you’ve decided you’re gonna write a fanfiction, what, what inspires you, or what has inspired you in the past? Other than the source material. ‘Cause it seems like you tend to write in AUs a lot. And I’m just glancing.

 

DANYEL : I actually can only write in AUs if characters are together. If they are not together, whoo, I can write so much angst and drama, it’s amazing, but you can’t mess with happy things, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : That’s why I’ve steered mostly towards AU for this one.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, ok. So, uh.

 

DELAYNE : That makes sense.

 

DARKWICCAN : That makes total sense.

 

DELAYNE : I, I’ve known a few people that um, that only write non-canon pairings, and I, that just seems weird to me. ‘Cause I pretty much only write canon pairings. So, to each their own.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE :  But, what I want to know is, why did you wanna write a soulmate AU?

 

DANYEL : Ok, so I had never written a soulmate AU before, and I was kinda reluctant to do so because I never had. And there’s a lot of things about this particular fic that I’d never really done before. So I was kind of testin’ out some waters. Not sure how I feel about it, but ya know, uh, did a lot of research on the different kinds of soulmate AUs and this one was the one I finally settled on. It made more sense to me.

 

DELAYNE : So, you wanted to do a soulmate AU, but you weren’t sure which one, which type?

 

DANYEL : Uh, yeah. There’s so many different types.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] There really is.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, what about the idea of color sight caught your attention and made you go “ah, that’s the one. That fits these two the most.”

 

DANYEL : Uh, so, they, I think I really just came up with the opening scene, and that was really my big thing. Is that it was the most dramatic thing I could think of. And then I just rolled with it.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, each of the chapters in your story are um, titled with a color. Do the chapter colors have meanings, because colors have meanings, do they correlate to something within the chapters themselves? Was that something that you did strategically as you were writing?

 

DANYEL : It is actually. Um, the meanings behind...

 

DELAYNE : Yay.

 

DANYEL : ...colors. Uh, they vary ‘cause the colors have different meanings, but there’s always some kind of emotion in each chapter that correlates with the color, so that was really, I actually didn’t come up with naming the chapters after a color. And then I was like probably, halfway through writing it and I was like “wow, if I don’t name these after colors, that’s really a missed opportunity.” So, I had to kinda go for it. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : Yeah, I can’t really tell you specifically because ya know, that’s part of the fun of it. I want the readers to research it.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s funny, we actually spent a good chunk of the previous segment breaking down every chapter by their color title, and like what the colors mean and what could this possibly relate to, and went down a little bit of a rabbit hole. So, good job.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : Awesome. Great.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, yeah. I hope you like it. [laughter]

 

DANYEL : I hope it was dramatic, is what I hope.

 

DARKWICCAN : It was. It was.

 

DANYEL : Awesome.

 

DELAYNE : Hey, yeah. Yeah, DW was definitely gettin’ into it. It was great.

 

DANYEL : Yeah, well, what are some of the things you came up with?

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, I’d have to pull up the color chart again. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : Oh my god you made a chart?

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, no, I just looked at a search, we did a Google search.

 

DANYEL : Oh. Well, you should have made a chart. You would have been...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : ...ya know, extremely prepared.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, so, for instance, for instance the latest chapter, nine. Black.

 

DANYEL : Mhmm. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : The, some of the potential meanings for black are sophistication, power, mystery and formality, and of course on the darker end of things, no pun intended, evil and death. Um, but to me it felt like mystery maybe applied a bit, and also, possibly power. Uh, if we’re going by the offering there. Or also, um, well, magic as well, but so yeah, that’s just us speculating, or me really just going down a rabbit hole speculating.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, it was mostly you. I just show up and giggle, honestly.

 

DANYEL : Well, I think you’re pretty close. That’s actually what I wrote down.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey! Woohoo!

 

DELAYNE : Woohoo! Yeah. [clapping sound] Fantastic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, I am going to be so awful to deal with tonight. I am so proud of myself.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m sitting here at my desk with my arms raised in triumph.

 

DANYEL : Nice. Well, ya know, if that’s what you got from it, then I did a pretty good job relaying that.

 

DARKWICCAN : You did an excellent job, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Pat yourself on the back.

 

DANYEL : Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely.

 

DANYEL : I’m also raising my arms in the air.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I had my arms up and was clapping earlier, but oh, well, I guess they’re up now. Look at that. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : Now, do the YMCA.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, like you. Like as loud as you can in an audio only, uh, forum, believe me, I am doing the YMCA right now.

 

DANYEL : I do believe you.

 

DELAYNE : Uh.

 

DANYEL : I am also doing it.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Ok, I am not, but I am completely thrown that this is happening. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Why? Why are you thrown by anything that happens on this show anymore Delayne, come on?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That’s, you’ve got a point. I’m thrown off so much you’d think I’d be use to it. How ‘bout we get back on track.

 

DARKWICCAN : Aww, if we have to.

 

DELAYNE : Agh. I’m, I...yes, I’m no fun. Because I wanna know why was Nicole so sure that she and Waverly could not be soulmates?

 

DANYEL : She is one hundred percent certain she has never been to Purgatory before. That’s as simple as the answer is. She does not remember ever being there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Even. Ok, even when...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...even when, even when Waverly shared her color sight story with Nicole, that didn’t jingle any bells in her head? Like.

 

DANYEL : No, she’s like thinking “oh god, this girl I think I have a crush on already has a soulmate. [sigh] What? So not fair. Obviously they live here. Obviously they already know each other. How do I compete?”

 

DARKWICCAN : But she already said, or Waverly said she had no idea who this person could possibly be because she’s never seen their face.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And Nicole hadn’t seen Waverly’s face.

 

DANYEL : Yeah, exactly.

 

DARKWICCAN : It was in a park.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Like they had a shared experience in a park. And Nicole’s not going “huh, that’s funny. That’s strangely close to my experience, only…”

 

DELAYNE : “Only I had no idea where I was.”

 

DANYEL : Yeah, exactly. Like, nobody said she was the smartest person in the world.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I fear for her detecting abilities if she…[laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : Well.

 

DELAYNE : Look. When people are in love, they will get stuck on some weird things. Especially if they think it might not work. So, ya know what, I, I’m there for it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I can suspend my disbelief.

 

DANYEL : Cool.

 

DARKWICCAN : Especially, with the clarity that she is absolutely, a hundred percent convinced she has never been to Purgatory.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : But it sounds like she was there for awhile though. She was at least there long enough to meet Chrissy’s house and Waverly is with them.

 

DANYEL : It’s just like for a short time, ya know. Like, the summer. It was like the summer.

 

DARKWICCAN : And she, at seven years old, wouldn’t remember being in a place called Purgatory?

 

DANYEL : No, I blocked out so much stuff from when I was seven. Like...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : You didn’t block anything out?

 

DARKWICCAN : No, that’s what I was saying to Delayne in our first segment. I moved around a lot, a lot as a kid, and I still have these vivid memories of going back to when I was three or four years old. I remember where I was. I remembered what I was doing. And all milestone or pivotal moments in my childhood that just lock into my head and I can’t not remember them. And remember where I was at the time. And um, so it just kind of struck me as, as a little weird. Not, not unbelievable, but a little weird that a seven year old wouldn’t remember perfectly this time and this place and this moment where she suddenly gained color sight.

 

DANYEL : Well, I didn’t move at all, and I blocked everything out.

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : So...

 

DELAYNE : I, I didn’t move at all, and it’s not that it’s blocked, it’s that it’s all, it was all the same for so many years. Like I couldn’t pinpoint anything.

 

DANYEL : Yeah. Well, that’s fair. But, ya know, whatever. It’s uh, the plot point that you’re ruining.

 

DARKWICCAN : No, no. I’m not meaning to ruin it. I’m not meaning to ruin it. I’m just saying that, ya know, from my perspective, as a reader, this is something that I kinda went, “huh, that’s weird”. But it’s not the point where this ruins the entire story for me. [laughter] It’s like, ok, I can suspend my disbelief for a little bit.

 

DELAYNE : So, it’s fine, take a deep breath.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright. So, she’s just not putting two and two together. Ok.

 

DANYEL : No, she’s just crushed by this idea that she doesn’t have a chance.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my god yeah. There’s the perfect girl and there’s just no way because I’m not that lucky.

 

DANYEL : Right. Exactly.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I can see that. I can totally get behind that. And I can get behind…’cause that, we, we queer and gay folk we do that, don’t we.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : I don’t know what you’re talking about, of course. Yes.

 

DANYEL : Yeah, pretty much.

 

DARKWICCAN : If anyone, any community has a cornerstone on, on a unrequited love and pining? It is the queer community for sure.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : [laughter] Right. Those are some stories.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. Uh, the story I wanna know...

 

DANYEL : Ok.

 

DELAYNE : I, ya know, ‘cause we’re nine chapters out of eleven, so it’s possible we will be gettin’ there, but um, I wanna know more about losing the ability to see color if you’re soulmate rejects you. So, tell me about that please.

 

DANYEL : Well, so that was mostly just, it was a big thing to make people go, uh, so as a plot point it was a thing were the characters to be like “oh, this is a reason that I need to find my soulmate and I need to give my soulmate a chance.” As opposed to “thanks for the colors, bye.” So, uh, that being said, ya know, the rejection thing. I mean, it would hurt and  lot of times whenever you’re with somebody and you have a heartbreak you feel like something is missing. So, this is just a literal representation of you missing something. Especially when it’s somebody you think you were gonna be with forever.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I mean that makes total sense. And really, how often have we heard you know, people who are going through a heartbreak or a loss saying “it’s like the color’s gone out of my world.”

 

DANYEL : Yeah. So, I really thought that was just something that would really fit in this story. Um, there’s a lot, I discovered, worldbuilding with soulmate AUs that I was like “oh my god I am not prepared for this”. Uh.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : But I was already so far in it that I was like “well, I guess I gotta just see it through.” Now we’re on nine out of eleven, so. Still gotta see it through.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : I’m still going to. I promise.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, awesome. Great. That’s awesome. I look forward to it.

 

DELAYNE : Wait, remember, this is a pressure free zone. So.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, we never pressure authors ever. We know how hard it is.

 

DANYEL : Well, I thrive on peer pressure, so feel free.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You heard it here, folks.

 

DANYEL : I said that.

 

DELAYNE : Say please.

 

DANYEL : Yeah, I actually said that in an interview on Tuesday, and I got the job, so there you go.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh well, hey, good. Congratulations.

 

DELAYNE : Yay! I remember seeing that.

 

DANYEL : Yeah. Thanks.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, I remember you asking on Twitter, that, good job.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : That’s happy news.

 

DARKWICCAN : But speaking of uh, worldbuilding in this AU. Um you have the character of Xavier Dolls show up and provide some more kind of consequences to the world and that is the soulmates law where it’s basically against the law if you are not soulmates with someone, to be with them in a serious relationship. And especially married to them. So, uh, that puts a lot of pressure on this very young and fledgling WayHaught relationship, ya know. Will we find out how soulmates law applies to unusual circumstances like Wynonna’s circumstance?

 

DANYEL : So, uh, Wynonna she, so I really like the idea of the Earp curse and I really wanted to stick with them being cursed with unfortunate incidents. And hers is kind of difficult, and she has a very uh, she’s in a very tough spot because she actually, ya know, has to either find a way to not make a choice, which ya know, luckily it’s Dolls, so he’s an active participant in this situation, so because he’s the law enforcing this, he’s not really gonna really be as hardcore about it as maybe somebody else would, but ya know, it’s kind of like for her, she can’t really make a choice and that’s kind of what was always portrayed on the show is she’s not really choosing between either of them. So, I did my best to kind of relate it to the situations in the show as well and that’s why she kind of ended up with this. And there’s not really a big consequence just because Dolls is the law that’s supposed to take care of all these kind of issues, so he overlooks things like he does in the show.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : That makes sense. I, I’m in this, I’m involved in this, I’m just gonna overlook that. That’s kind of convenient.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, turn a blind eye to my own awkward situation.

 

DANYEL : Yeah, I mean I don’t think I’d wanna be in the situation personally, but ya know, whatever. You do you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, it makes you wonder though, if she does end up, not that she would, but in theory, if she were to make a choice, and choose one or the other. Does that mean she’d lose half of her color sight?

 

DANYEL : Hmm. I would think so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh. Heavy.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : I mean, she’s always been a pretty good liar. Throughout the fic she’s been telling Waverly, “oh yeah, I could see in color this whole time”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, when in reality she can only see in partial color.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Well, I remember her saying it’s complicated.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : That was the…[laughter]

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Truer words never spoken. So, I’m wondering, and this is pure speculation, so feel free to not answer this, uh, but I’m wondering if the whole sort of consequence that you laid out early on in the fic where if a soulmate rejects their partner, they lose color sight. What happens if a soulmate rejects their partner, and then changes their mind, and accepts their partner again? Do they get their color sight back?

 

DANYEL : Hmm. I mean, you only have one soulmate, in theory, unless you’re Wynonna. ‘Cause she ya know, has. But that’s the difference, of you have one soulmate and then you see in color with both eyes, and uh, I would think that you’d have to kind of fall in love before you’d get to see it. Like they’d have to truly fall in love with each other. And so it would be really unfortunate circumstances probably. But then you’d at least know somebody really loved you.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s true. That’s true. It adds that extra weight of uh, of commitment, and depth of feeling.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh. That’s too heavy.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : You guys asked the question.

 

DARKWICCAN : For a colorful story. Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Fair. Fair. Absolutely fair. Absolutely fair. So, before we tread too deeply into spoiler territory. There’s another thing you do within the Earp fandom and beyond. Uh, that our listeners might be interested to know about.

 

[CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM].

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re a terrific graphic artist. So how did you get into graphic art?

 

DANYEL : Uh, so I actually worked at Staples for five years, and I was in the print and marketing department, and we had this guy come in and he regularly printed um, posters out. That he sent out and he was making a lot of money doing it. And I said to him, “hey, there’s this poster that I really want” and he was like “cool, you know how to make it” and I was like “you’re really not gonna make it for me?” and he said “no, you know how to make photoshop” and I was like “great, thanks”. And I had really only made wallpapers up until then, but ya know I guess I just went for it and then it kind of caught on a little bit. I’ve been probably doing this for almost three years now. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Wow, and some of these, many of these poster prints are just gorgeous. The design is very minimal and uses uh really vibrant colors and shapes, geometry and um, yeah man.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m drooling over this homestead location poster.

 

DANYEL : Yeah. That one was...

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s so simple.

 

DANYEL : Yeah. Well, I was gonna make...

 

DELAYNE : Taking notes. What to get DW for Christmas.

 

DANYEL : [laughter] That was a kind of style I was gonna try, but uh, I picked grey colors for that one. I didn’t want it to be too bright, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, good call. It’s. Definitely.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, yeah, that’s [CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM] Everybody check it out, it’s amazing.

 

DANYEL : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Are you gonna incorporate, are you gonna make any posters for your own fic.

 

DANYEL : Uh, I really only make mood boards, and I do that for a lot of different fics. I’ve done it for a few of mine, but I kind of use it as a way to do fic rec. Mostly because they say on social media pictures catch people’s eyes and that way uh, they have a look at it, so maybe more people will check out the fic rec’s that I give.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome. And those are on your tumblr page? Or where do you...

 

DANYEL : I do it on Twitter. Um, I have this.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, on Twitter.

 

DANYEL : Yeah yeah. I have a, my pinned tweet is where I put all the links to the fic rec’s that I do, so. Kinda try to stay on top of that.

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m hopping on over to your twitter feed. I see...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] DW is in research mode this episode.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, before...

 

DANYEL : Uh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Before I dive down yet another rabbit hole, uh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Let’s do one more bit of business.

 

DANYEL : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Danyel, thank you so much for comin’ on the show. It has been great chatting with you. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy “Colors”. It is one of my absolute favorite soulmate AU stories that I go back to frequently. Um, and uh, I’m excited to see what happens in chapters ten and eleven.

 

DANYEL : Me too.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But before we let you go to work on those chapters.

 

DANYEL : Uh huh.

 

DARKWICCAN : We have one more question that we have to ask you. And it’s really the only hardball question that we have on the show. So, Delayne? The floor is yours.

 

DELAYNE : Alright. So, you are stranded on a desert island, and have only one fanfic to read. What is it?

 

DANYEL : So, my thing is, I have a very hard time rereading things. There’s only really one fic that I’ve ever read more than once, and I think you guys know it. It’s called “One-Eighty” by sensitive_pigeon.

 

DARKWICCAN : [deep breath] Excellent choice.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : The bird is the word. Yes.

 

DANYEL : Yeah. I also had to do a shout out to my friend, so, ya know. Yeah, she’s great, she’s a great writer.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah. Pigeon is fantastic, and “One-Eighty” is delightful.

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DANYEL : Of course. Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I am absolutely more than happy to include that in our show notes with a link so that our listeners have a chance to, if they haven’t already, and if you haven’t what is wrong with you…

 

DANYEL : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...uh, check out “One-Eighty” by sensitive_pigeon. Everyone’s favorite bird.

 

DANYEL : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, Danyel, thank you once again for comin’ on the show. It has been so much fun chatting with you, and I look forward to seeing what else you have coming for us here in the _Wynonna Earp_ world.

 

DANYEL : Probably AU.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Whatever AUs you have. I will amend. I will amend.

 

DANYEL : Right. There’s like one hundred different ideas. Probably not all mine.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, awesome.

 

DELAYNE : Oh. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s very exciting. That is very exciting. Well, listen, we won’t keep you any longer. We’ll let you dash off to start sketching those ideas out. Both in word and in picture form.

 

DANYEL : Awesome.

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addition. Thanks for joining us. Tremendous thanks to Danyel, aka onlywordsnow, for being such a good sport as we discussed their work “Colors”. Thanks also to our announcer, Byron Tidwell, for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, Sam’s Band (Pop Version) by Erik Barone, Heart of the Forest by Alec Holowka, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	8. Home Is Where the Heart Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DarkWiccan and Laragh get all domestic as they chat about one of their favorite WayHaught series, 'Home' by WrackWonder!

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/home-is-where-the-heart-is)

 

Read the Series! [Home](https://archiveofourown.org/series/483680) by [wrackwonder](https://twitter.com/WrackWonder)

 

Episode Artwork by: [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

 

Please also check out Wrackwonder's latest work: '[Scars of Sweet Paradise](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16254224)'

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by ApproxTenCats!

 

 

Ep 208: Home is Where the Heart Is 

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host Dark Wiccan, and with me, bundled up and by a hearth full of warm roasting logs, upon which is a small container of chestnuts, is my adorable and delightful friend... 

LARAGH : Hey, it’s Laragh.

DARKWICCAN : [Laughter] Who wasn’t even sure if she was really there.  Did I whisk you away?

LARAGH: I didn’t know if you were finished, because that went on for a while.

DARKWICCAN:  It did, it went on for a little while.  But you know, you deserve a warm introduction.  I think that’s about as warm as I can make it. 

LARAGH: Yeah, I appreciate it, friend.

DARKWICCAN:  It’s starting to be that chilly time of year, we’re both upper latitude? Yeah.  We’re in the upper lats, we’re in the upper lats. It’s similar here in Washington as it is to bonny Ireland. 

LARAGH: [Giggles]

DARKWICCAN: But you guys are colder!

LARAGH: Yeah, I would say we are probably colder.  It’s pretty cold.

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, you’re a little bit higher up, a little higher up on the globe.  But are you nice and bundled up, next to your chestnuts roasting on an open fire?

LARAGH: Well I live in an apartment so I don’t have an open fire.

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] Have your neighbours complained about the fire hazard?

LARAGH: Regularly, yeah.

DARKWICCAN: Regularly? [Irish accent] “Stop roasting your damn chestnuts!”  I can’t do an irish accent. I just had a bowl full of broccoli cheese soup and I can only sound like me right now. 

LARAGH: I don’t know what one has to do with the other but okay. 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I’m really… I’m kind of phlegmy, and when you’re kind of phlegmy it’s a little harder to, um, get your mouth to work the way that you need it to to make certain shapes to make certain sounds.

[CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

LARAGH: Amazing.

DARKWICCAN: So speaking of home….

LARAGH: Nicely done.

DARKWICCAN : Thank you, how was that segue?  What brings us here today my dear friend, is to talk about one of my favorite, I believe your favorite too, totally excellent, domestic Wayhaught series.

LARAGH: Oh, domestic is just… draws me like a moth to a flame.  If you tell me you’re gonna give me domestic Wayhaught I am so there.

DARKWICCAN: I am there too, that is, like, my favorite genre and when it’s done well it is like that warm blankie.   Even when there’s angst, it still like you’re wrapped up in a warm blankie of love and domesticity. This series is actually named “The Home Series” and it is done by admittedly a favorite of the podcast WrackWonder.   

LARAGH: The all-round wonder WrackWonder.

DARKWICCAN: The all-round wonder..  We had her on the show last season on our “Six Short Shorts” episode I believe, and then we also had her on the panel at EhCon, EhCon Canada fic panel and that was a lot of fun so we’re excited to be talking about another one of her works here today and of course we will be talking with her after the break in our second segment.  So let’s dive into chatting about this delightful domestic series.

LARAGH: Yes. Lets.  So the first fic in the series is called “Nothing Compares” and it’s worth noting that almost this entire series was written before season two and season three.  

DARKWICCAN: That is correct.

LARAGH: It was written from the middle of season one into the season one hiatus.  All bar the very last one were written way before two or three. So the first one is called “Nothing Compares” and it is a fic that compares Champ and Nicole in the best possible way because we get to learn about why Nicole is just a much better partner.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.  Absolutely. I mean, not much of a challenge.

LARAGH: Yeah, that’s true.  Yeah. But important nonetheless.  Important from Waverly’s perspective to learn what a good partner is.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, absolutely. To be able to understand why Champ was not good for her and why Nicole is good for her. 

LARAGH: Yeah, and it’s through a series of little moments.  So it’s the five plus one style, you know, where you say five comparisons and one time where she doesn’t need to compare anymore because she knows Nicole is it.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, or she doesn’t have an instance in a previous experience to compare it to.

LARAGH: Yes, exactly yes.  So we kind of see her first kiss with Nicole versus her first kiss with Champ and various moments in their dating life and it really sets the scene for their kind of, their bond and their family going forward for the rest of the series.  Particularly there’s a big moment with Nicole and she gets hurt on the job and that affects their family, their future family.

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

LARAGH: And even though they’re still kind of newly dating at this time it kind of cements the fact that they want a family together.  Yeah, so this is, it really sets the scene for how the rest of the series goes and I think that it really feels, even now two seasons later, it feels authentic.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, absolutely.  That really shows how in tune Wrackwonder was, and is, with these characters.  She was really just getting to know these characters, as we all are when we sit down to write our first fic within a fandom.  And these were so brand new.

LARAGH: Like, for reference in this first one?  Waverly and Nicole hadn’t kissed yet when this first one got released.

DARKWICCAN: On the show?

LARAGH: On the show, yeah.  Sorry, I should have clarified that.  It was just before episode nine aired where they had their first kiss in the sheriff’s office, so for their voices to be that clear, particularly with each other because they didn’t have that much interaction with each other...

DARKWICCAN : They really didn’t, no. 

LARAGH: So for it to still feel real is really an amazing feat I think.

DARKWICCAN: And I think it does two things too.  It not only speaks to Wrackwonder’s intuition, to really be able to latch on to these characters and who they are so early on when even the writers of the show were just getting to know these characters, but it also shows just what an excellent job Emily and the writers did laying the foundation for the core principles of these characters and the core behaviors of these characters.   So that’s impressive on both sides.

LARAGH:  Well, good art creates more good art.

DARKWICCAN: Absolutely.  So we come through the end of this five plus one and at the end of it, spoiler alert, in case you didn’t know this was a domestic Wayhaught story where they create a family.  Okay so just so you know, there’s no way for us not to divulge that much information. [Laughter] By the end of this story they are married and Waverly has just given birth to their first child, a little boy Wyatt.  And that’s the plus one, that there’s no comparison in her previous life to anything other than her relationship with Nicole. So it’s all very sweet and very almost dreamlike? I don’t know. I almost felt like the last segment was a little bit dreamy. 

LARAGH: Yeah, I think it is, and I think that that dreamy moment serves later as a very big contrast to where this series goes. Dun dun dun.

DARKWICCAN: Dun dun dun…

LARAGH: There’s angst in this series guys.

DARKWICCAN : Yes, but you know, there has to be angst.  Because, frankly as fluffy and lovely as fluff is after a while it’s kind of like cotton candy, it gets a little bit… your teeth start to rot, it gets a little cloying.  And it’s not as enjoyable anymore. So you do need to toss in a little bit of angst here and there, a little bit of drama, to keep the story going and keep readers engaged.  So let’s jump right into that, with the next story in the series called “Snowfall”. And it takes place a couple of years down the line from the end of “Nothing Compares”.

LARAGH: About two years.

DARKWICCAN: About two years, yeah.  And there is a, what we would consider now to be a major character death that happens at the top of the story.

LARAGH: Yeah, it’s listed as minor character death.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, and the thing is, I think at the time that this was tagged minor character death is absolutely fair, if anything maybe even a little generous.  Because this character really didn’t… was truly a background character.

LARAGH: And a bit of a grump.

DARKWICCAN: And a bit of a grump, yeah.  They played their part and then they got off screen.  I completely agree with the tagging as a minor character death.  Now we would consider it major, at the time minor. Essentially Nicole is… it’s no one in the Earp family, it’s external to that.  Nicole is really affected by this death because it happened in front of her, and Waverly arrives on-scene after everything’s happened, to take a shell-shocked Nicole home.

LARAGH: Right, because not only did this death occur, Nicole also had to kill a perp in the process of this death occurring.

DARKWICCAN: A double-whammy.

LARAGH: And I believe that it’s framed as her first… the first time she’s had to actually take a life.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, essentially as you say, it’s a double whammy for Nicole, and really a triple whammy. One, character death. Two, she shot at a perpetrator.  Three, she killed that perpetrator. Huge, huge, huge, huge things. And so Waverly comes and collects her from the crime scene and we learn that she’s only two weeks out from having given birth to their second child, a little girl that they named Willa.  The only likeable Willa I think.

LARAGH: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: And so Waverly brings Nicole home, and Wynonna is there and she’s watching the kids and there’s a wonderful exchange between Wynonna and Nicole. 

LARAGH: Yeah, I just... these two.  They’re either like comic relief or they’re gonna give you the biggest hit of feels ever.  And sometimes both at the same time.

DARKWICCAN: And I think that’s kind of the case here.  Or at least Willa helps out with some of the comedy relief.  She releases the pressure on the scene. [Laughter] She cuts through it!

LARAGH: Oh, DW is cracking herself up right now because she’s making fart puns.

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] Sorry, I love a good fart joke.  But Wynonna essentially reminds Nicole why they do what they do, and that is a wonderful exchange there.  Again a very quiet, meaningful exchange. And then Willa farts. And then Waverly gets her time with Nicole, and takes a risk for her, both emotional and physical and that is another, just a very profound moment.  Like Wynonna helped Nicole the only way Wynonna could, and Waverly helped Nicole the only way they could as a couple. So yeah. 

LARAGH: Yeah, and just it’s all very moving really.

DARKWICCAN: It is, it’s lovely.  

LARAGH: All of these relationships feel intimate.  And yeah, it’s just… moving.

DARKWICCAN: It’s delightful.  Okay, so then we move on to the next work in the series which is called “Cold and Broken Hallelujah.”  And they’re all relatively short works but I believe this is the shortest one of all of them and one thing that WrackWonder doesn’t shy away from is tackling big stuff and tackled death in “Snowfall” and in “Cold and Broken Hallelujah” she tackles gay-bashing and what it’s like to be gay sometimes in a small town.  And Nicole, while on duty, on a call, it’s never made entirely clear the circumstances that led her to where she was at the time this happened, gets beat up pretty bad, called some pretty nasty derogatory names. 

LARAGH: Yeah, she does, it’s a very clear homophobic slur, there’s no ifs, ands or buts about that, what the motivation was.  She comes home to… this one skips back a little bit, so Wyatt is a baby again and Willa hasn’t been born, so she comes home to baby Wyatt, and her wife and her sister-in-law and they go into Earp mode...

DARKWICCAN: And Dolls is there too.

LARAGH: Dolls is there too.  They go into Earp mode ….

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, I love the fact that they’re immediately like, “grab Peacemaker and hop in the truck, we’re gonna go kick some ass.”

LARAGH: “We’re gonna go kick some butt.” Yeah, exactly, I love that.

DARKWICCAN : And of course Nicole’s like, “no no no no no.”  

LARAGH: Nicole’s the level headed one.  But as ever she gets dragged along by the Earp sisters because she’s ride or die.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, yeah, and once again we have a scenario where the Earp gang as a group offer their support the only way they know how and then we have the time between Nicole and Waverly.  So there’s a bit of a formula starting to emerge between the stories but that’s okay, that’s okay. Formulas are fine.

LARAGH: I think it’s really important actually that WrackWonder continuously brings it back to Nicole and Waverly because that’s the relationship that’s being explored here, that’s being highlighted.  And there can be side relationships going on, and side family antics and so on but the series is rooted in their relationship and their family so I think it’s really important and really great that Wrackwonder brings us back to them each time.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, because this is the Wayhaught domestic series, it’s about Waverly and Nicole, ultimately.  So yeah.

LARAGH: So, next fic, number four in the series is called “Taken” and this is an eventful fic, a lot goes on in this fic.  It starts with a fight, well it starts out that way, it starts with a pretty big fight between Waverly and Nicole and the future of their family and then the Earp sisters go and get themselves kidnapped.

DARKWICCAN : [Laughter] Yeah, because of course they do.

LARAGH: Of course they do.  Because it’s still Purgatory.  You can’t just have fights about how many children you want when you’re in Purgatory because someone’s going to get kidnapped.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, so then of course Nicole does her own version of the  _ Taken  _ monologue [Laughter] no I’m kidding.

LARAGH: That would have been good.

DARKWICCAN: That would have been great right?  Because it’s called “Taken”, I could just see Nicole going, [Liam Neeson voice] “I don’t have money but what I do have are a very particular set of skills” [Laughter] I could totally see that happening.

LARAGH: She just pulls out her sock gun.

DARKWICCAN : Exactly, exactly. But instead she pulls out a horse, which is really cool.

LARAGH: We have Haught on a horse.

DARKWICCAN: Haught on a horse!  To the rescue! And doesn’t she use a lariat?  I can’t quite recall, but like, no I don’t think she used a lariat.  But what I loved about this one is that we have an opportunity to see Wynonna and Waverly because they’re literally trapped together, be able to have a conversation and for Wynonna to provide sisterly advice which we don’t really see that often other than “you know I’ve got eyes baby girl, Nicole loves you” kind of stuff.  Most of the time it’s Wynonna complaining about her lot in life and Waverly doing the equivalent of her, “I’m not saying it’s going to be okay, I’m just saying I’m here.” You know what I mean? So it was really nice to have this time between the sisters, forced or not.

LARAGH: Yeah, and have them work together.

DARKWICCAN: They had to work together and Wynonna says to Waverly, “woah, you were out of line. I’m not saying you were wrong but how you handled that, you were out of line.” 

LARAGH:  That scene of them together I think provides the funniest moment of the entire series and that’s when Waverly gets rope burns on her stomach because she’s wearing the crop top.  [Laughter] I laughed so hard. I laughed so hard when I read that.

DARKWICCAN : And I mean, it’s fair.  She does wear a lot of crop tops at a time of year and in a place where crop tops maybe aren’t the wisest clothing option.  It’s like, “honey we get it, you have gorgeous abs.”

LARAGH: “We know, we know sweetie.”

DARKWICCAN: “We know honey, we know what’s under there.”  But yeah, so essentially the… of course we have a bit of a happily ever after-ish.  Well, let’s just say all things resolved sort of conclusion to that story which takes us to the scenario that causes the trauma and angst for the final three, so far, stories in this series.

LARAGH: Deep breath everyone.

DARKWICCAN: So, “Don’t Go”.  Oh man. This is a traumatic one.  Laragh, you take it.

LARAGH: Okay, oh my god, okay.  So after the resolution of the final chapter about the future of their family Waverly is in fact  pregnant for the third time, with their third child but things don’t go as rosily this time and Nicole goes home to find her unconscious on the floor and has to rush her into hospital for the baby to be emergency delivered and [deep breath in] this one was like a punch to the gut for me.  I think that I wrote something very similar to this once, involving traumatic childbirth and PTSD and I just think it’s a topic that really hits you so viscerally. You can feel it in your bones that tension and that pain and I think because we frame childbirth as this wonderfully joyous and momentous occasion and, you know, and we kind of get told, “oh yeah it hurts, but all of the bad stuff will go away as soon as the baby gets placed in your arms.” But sometimes the baby isn’t placed in your arms.  And sometimes it doesn’t go the way it’s supposed to go, and we never think that it will but sometimes it just goes wrong and it involves two people who you love more than anything and that’s just so intense. And I think that this piece, this collection of pieces, shows that so beautifully and authentically and I feel, I was kind of stunned really by how Wrackwonder was able to convey so much emotion in a relatively short amount of words.

DARKWICCAN : Yes, and I think that’s owed so much to her facility with words, and her ability to shape emotion in her writing so that you are, you are a passenger and you are experiencing these feelings as the characters are experiencing them.  And obviously, spoiler alert Waverly survives, the baby survives, it’s fine, but it’s not fine. It’s very not. You know, the babies got medical issues because it’s born prematurely in a traumatic way and you know Waverly’s got a period of healing ahead of her and for the first time when it comes to their children they are not on the same page because their experience was so vastly different.  Waverly basically passed out and woke up no longer pregnant and the baby was stable by the time she came to, and she knows she went through a trauma but she didn’t really experience it in real time the way that Nicole did. And Nicole has survivor’s guilt even though nobody died, but she’s got a lot of guilt going on because she wasn’t there, when Waverly lost consciousness. She had insisted on going into work that morning and that guilt sort of followed her and now as we go into the next story “The Return”, well not “The Return”, it’s just “Return”, we have a Nicole who is dealing with PTSD.  I mean she is paranoid, she refuses to leave Wynne’s, their baby son’s side, she refuses to let anyone else handle him, even Waverly, which I’m sure is problematic because I’m sure Waverly is breastfeeding him, or at least attempting to. You know, she can’t bring herself to spend time with Waverly, or really even look at her, because of the guilt that she feels. It’s not that she doesn’t love Waverly, it’s almost that she loves her too much and she just feels so guilty. I mean, there’s a lot going on.

LARAGH: You’re combining so many big, traumatic events and emotions with a newborn baby.  As if that isn’t enough. As if a newborn baby and two other children, and Wynonna, isn’t enough.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah [Laughter].  Wynonna’s their fourth child. I’m trying to… I must confess I re-read this a couple of days ago and for some reason my mind is blanking.  Who is it that knocks some sense into her?

LARAGH: I thought it was Waverly.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, it is Waverly.  She finally gets Nicole to communicate with her.

LARAGH: Yeah, and I think that it was important that it was Waverly.  Above anyone else, yeah.

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and I think because you can’t always have that outside voice of reason that steps in.  Because that outside voice of reason doesn’t exist most of the time. 

LARAGH: Yeah, and it’s their child, and even though it was separate it was still their experience.  I’m really glad that she chose Waverly to be the one to talk some sense into Nicole.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, from Wrackwonders perspective as the author, the architect of this story, I completely agree.  I think that it makes it more true to life, that it would have to be the partner. Having it come from Waverly, having Waverly be the one that snaps her out of it, one: it stays true to the formula which is important, and two: it makes it more profound.  There we go, that’s the word. Makes it more profound, and meaningful, and really gets them back on track as a couple which takes us to the most recent work where Nicole is not one hundred percent better but she is definitely getting back in the saddle.

LARAGH: Yes.  Apt choice of words.  They go to therapy, I think, together or separately.  There’s therapy involved anyway.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.

LARAGH: And then there’s another kind of therapy, between them, alone.

DARKWICCAN : Yes, sexual healing.

LARAGH: Sexual healing.  A little bit of Marvin Gaye.

DARKWICCAN: Very Gay.

LARAGH: I didn’t actually check the rating on this before I read it because all the other ones are T ratings and then....

DARKWICCAN: It’s an M.

LARAGH: I know, I discovered that about half way through.

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.  Well, it’s not explicit, it’s just mature.  And, you know, and the thing is it’s not porn without plot at all.  It’s a very necessary next step in their healing process, and getting back on track. 

LARAGH: I thought it was really important how it reiterated that notion we all have, you know of consent being sexy.  In particular I think because they’ve been married for so long, I think they’ve been married for something like eight years at this point, and that it’s continuous, you know, consent doesn’t stop.  And also for Nicole, I thought it was really important for her to give someone else permission to touch her. It was kind of like giving herself permission to feel.

DARKWICCAN: Yes. 

LARAGH: And I think that was, you know, as you say a healing moment for her.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, absolutely.  As you say, she’s not at one hundred percent, she may never be again because of all the trauma that that incident with Wynne’s birth did on her.  But she’s definitely getting better and they are getting back on track and that’s what’s important because it is ultimately about them. That’s what this series is about, it is ultimately about Waverly and Nicole and their lives together.

LARAGH: I was going to say, I think it’s great as well that we can have the focus on them and still get little snippets of how everyone else is evolving in the family.  We learn that Wynonna sleeps with Dolls at one point, around the same time that all this is going on, this therapy and, you know, she’s freaking out because she thinks she’s caught the worst STD of them all: feelings.

DARKWICCAN : [Laughter]

LARAGH: And, you know, we still learn about everyone else but still framed within the context of Waverly and Nicole and I think Wrackwonder just does that really well.

DARKWICCAN: And I’m looking forward to picking her brain a bit, about this series and how she came up with the concept and how she created this world for them.  But before we do that, of course as I mentioned earlier that is our second segment today we got a couple of things to talk about. First of all, I’ve never done this before but I must tease next week’s episode, I must.  

LARAGH: Do tease us DW.

DARKWICCAN: Yes. Because next week’s episode is our very first, very special, holiday special. Yay!  And it’s gonna be so good you guys! It’s gonna be amazing. We have a very special guest joining us for the second segment next week and you’re gonna want to tune in, it’s gonna be awesome.  Yeah, I’m not gonna give it away but you gotta tune in to next week’s episode, it’s going to be incredible. 

LARAGH: It’ll be a barrel of laughs.

DARKWICCAN: Hey! Badum ting.  [CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

 

MUSIC: Rynoka Variations by David Fenn

  
  


DARKWICCAN : And welcome back everybody to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am still your host DarkWiccan, and with me is my delightful co-host, all the way from Ireland.

LARAGH: Hey, it’s Laragh.

DARKWICCAN: And we are so excited to have joining  with us again, a returning guest from last season, the amazing, the delightful,  the wonderful and dare I say very romantic: Wrackwonder!

WRACKWONDER: Hey everybody.

DARKWICCAN: Welcome back friend!

WRACKWONDER: Thank you, I’m honored.

DARKWICCAN: This is so cool.  I mean, you’re technically… this is your third time around.

WRACKWONDER: Is it?

DARKWICCAN : It is, if we count EhCon.

WRACKWONDER: That sounds kind of slutty, but I like it.

[Laughter]

LARAGH: Podcast slut.

DARKWICCAN: You’re one of our regulars.

WRACKWONDER: That’s what all the ladies say, no I’m just joking.

DARKWICCAN: Oh man, yeah, we had you on the show last year and we had you on the panel.

WRACKWONDER: Do I get a t-shirt or something, this is so cool?

DARKWICCAN : Well, we do have shirts now.

WRACKWONDER:  A third timer shirt, or a jacket?

DARKWICCAN: Oh, there you go, like something embroidered on the back.  

WRACKWONDER: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: Laragh, what would we… instead of the Pink Ladies what would we be?

LARAGH: Um, god, what would… we’re the Meaningful Gayze Club.

DARKWICCAN : The Meaningful Gayze Club! Yes!

WRACKWONDER: I love that!

DARKWICCAN: We love it.

WRACKWONDER: I will wear that E]every day.

DARKWICCAN: We are copyrighting that now.  [CONTENT CENSORED - SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM] The Meaningful Gayze Club, I love it, it’s got so many meanings.

WRACKWONDER: I’ll wear it home for Christmas.

DARKWICCAN : Fantastic.  But yeah, but EhCon, that was a total blast, I had a lot of fun.  Not just doing the panel, but hanging out, that was a good time.

WRACKWONDER: The best.  I mean obviously meeting the cast and crew was amazing.  But getting to meet you and the fellow writers was the best part for me.

DARKWICCAN: You know, it’s really neat getting to sit down, or you know even just stand in line and say hi to Emily and Kat and Dom and everyone and Mel and whatnot, but really for me these conventions are becoming about Earpers.

WRACKWONDER: Yeah, I have to be honest, I was sort of one of those people that when I went I was thinking like, “I’m not here to make friends” and I don’t know why I was in such a bad mood but that’s exactly what I did.  And now I want to go to more because of the people I met. Not just… obviously yeah we want to meet the cast and whatever, but I just want to hang out with my people and discuss characterisation over drinks 

DARKWICCAN: That was so much fun, oh man.  That pre-panel dinner, that was a great, great plan.

WRACKWONDER: It was amazing, and like the, I think about it all the time, we talked about craft and you know as fan fiction writers you don’t get to do that ever.  Because you kind of live with this idea that fanfic isn’t legitimate in some ways so it was great to talk to people about this very legitimate form of writing that we do.

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely and you know I’m hoping that… and I know this is a very niche-y podcast with a very small base that it reaches, but I’m hoping that in doing this, and running the twitter account and trying to bring attention to fanfiction and the incredibly high quality of writing that we have, especially in this fandom, is bringing some level of legitimacy to fanfiction.  Because like you say, we have this sort of maligned view of this artform, and it really is an artform, when really when you think about it some of what we consider to be the greatest works of literature are fanfiction.

WRACKWONDER: I’d say a great majority of them are fanfiction.  You know I always talk about Chaucer or Dante you know like I’m trying to think, like Milton. I mean let’s look at the names and then let’s look at who’s labelling things, fanfiction as something “lesser than”.  It’s really a patriarchal garbage can that’s been thrown at us. But on a positive note, I’m very grateful for the podcast and for the twitter account because I think in organization that’s where we sort of get a voice and move forward as a genre.

DARKWICCAN: Yay, thank you, I hope it’s working.  I hope it’s helpful. 

WRACKWONDER: You know I’m a total fangirl.  So...

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] Listen I’ll slip you the twenty after the podcast.

LARAGH: I’m fangirling over Wrackwonder right now, that’s amazing.  Everything you just said.

WRACKWONDER: Thank you.  You know, I just talk. It’s part of my job in life.

DARKWICCAN : That’s true.  You are a professional talker.  So let’s talk! So as you know this show we decided to dedicate to your lovely, lovely domestic Wayhaught  _ Home _ series which really… was it your first foray into Wayhaught fiction?

WRACKWONDER: Yes, it was my first Wayhaught fanfic, that I wrote.  It feels like a very long time ago but it’s also a very important one I feel, in my journey as a fanfic writer so thank you for wanting to talk about it because it’s close to my heart.

LARAGH: We love it.

DARKWICCAN: It’s close to our hearts too.  

LARAGH: So you said you wrote it quite a while ago, I think it was the middle of season one when you started, was it not before Nicole and Waverly even kissed?

WRACKWONDER: Yes, I think so.

LARAGH: I checked the dates, and I think it was right before the first kiss.  So did you watch the show right from the start?

WRACKWONDER: I think I did, if memory serves, I’m not sure I watched the first episode but a friend said to me, “you gotta watch this thing, it’s weird and gay.”

DARKWICCAN : [Laughter]

LARAGH: Excellent.

WRACKWONDER: And that’s sort of enough for me to be like, “Oh, I feel like that’s up my alley.”  So yeah, I was a pretty early adopter. I think once… you know Emily said this once so I don’t say this in any negative sort of way but I think the show took a few episodes to find its footing.  So I watched but it wasn’t until about episode seven that I was ride or die and I was like, “this is something special, and I want to be here for it.”

LARAGH: And what was the moment when you knew you were going to have to write for Wayhaught?  Or write for the show in general?

WRACKWONDER: I think when it comes to Wayhaught, they had a great meet-cute and then the relationship really built in such an almost surprising way in that we were given more than anyone expected.  I mean at the time it was a fairly fraught time for queer women on TV, there was a lot going on especially with The 100 and with Lexa. I don’t know if Lexa had been…. Lexa was killed of march of that year.  It’s weird that I remember that but I do. So I think everyone was sort of expecting the worst from Wayhaught, we were expecting Nicole to disappear, or die, or it to peter out. And it just kept getting better and better in quality and content and I think that’s what drew me to it, is all of a sudden there’s something special here and it feels like it’s going somewhere interesting.  I’m interested in that.

DARKWICCAN: What sparked the idea for the  _ Home _ series to begin with?  Was it just a “five times plus one” idea that kind of started the ball rolling?  And if so what sparked each subsequent story?

WRACKWONDER: Yeah, um, I remember I wanted to try writing fanfic trope, I guess you could say, that I haven’t, or I hadn’t at the time, done before.  And I remember thinking “five times plus one” I’d never tried it before, well this would be interesting and it would let me write vignettes…

DARKWICCAN : [Laughter] Did you just say [ph] vid-gen-ettes? 

WRACKWONDER: I did, I’m sorry, I’ve had a rye and coke.  I’ve had the worst week.

DARKWICCAN: I know, I know hon.

WRACKWONDER: English is very difficult, which is ironic if you know what I do for a living.  It did allow me to write these sort of short glimpses of Wayhaught’s life in a way that I could skip forward in time, pick important moments, and do that comparison with Waverly’s life with Champ versus Waverly’s life with Nicole.  And it just, I don’t remember it being a big deal in my writing life, I remember I wrote it and I was like, “well, that’s cute.” And I put it online and it was received very well. And that was a little bit shocking for me, it was the first time I think people noticed I existed.  Both in fanfiction and in general… [Laughter] Life is really hard. But then, I never wanted it to be more than one chapter and then, it just started… there’s something about the universe I created in “Nothing Compares” that made me want to go back and explore and it was sort of a fun sandbox to play in. 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, tell me about it.  I love this world that you’ve built up for these characters.  Especially considering that you were really just sort of truly writing off the cuff.  You had no idea what was going to happen to these characters in canon, you were just like, “I’m going to take these characters, and I’m going to put them in this situation, and I’m going to extrapolate.”  And each subsequent story builds so beautifully off of the previous one, and they’re so emotive and so full of feeling, and there’s a purpose to every story, it’s not just, “well I feel like throwing some feelings out there.”  There’s a clear purpose behind every story and I mean, I know, I’ve got two favorites of the entire group that I’ll reveal later. Well, actually I’ve revealed one in the previous segment but yeah... what inspires each subsequent story, like what  sparked the idea for “Snowfall” for instance.

WRACKWONDER: Well, I have to remember what all of them are now.  This is terrible that I sort of...

DARKWICCAN : [Laughter] So “Snowfall” was the second one in the series …

WRACKWONDER: That’s the one where I kill Nedley right?  Which in retrospect how the hell could I have killed Nedley?  But at the time Nedley was, you know, a very minor... I never want to say he was uninteresting but you know, he wasn’t very nice to Wynonna and so it was, we weren’t all pro-Nedley at that point.  I’ve spoken before about how I love medical drama and I sort of, I’m also very drawn to the idea of trauma as well. And I like exploring Nicole’s trauma because at the time in season one Nicole didn’t get to talk about herself very much so I kept wanting to throw her in situations where she’d be upset and then have a chance to sort of express that upset.  I think trauma is an amazing way to explore people coming together even though sometimes it tears people apart and I think when it comes to romantic relationships trauma plays in an even more heightened way. And so when it came to “Snowfall” I was sort of interested in the dynamic of Waverly and Nicole but also Wynonna in that mix and sort of what that looks like when there’s kiddos rolling around in the background as well.

DARKWICCAN: I also love that you had baby Willa fart spectacularly.  Great tension break.

WRACKWONDER: Kids were very clear in my head and they have been from the beginning so even as a baby I was like Willa she’s just gonna fart, that’s her [inaudible]

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

WRACKWONDER: I love how they describe Alice Michelle as dainty and pretty but you know, if you’ve ever held a baby they are hilarious little farting machine’s so I was like….

 

DARKWICCAN:[Laughter]

WRACKWONDER: She’s just gonna fart, and that’s gonna be her thing and she’s still gonna be cute as a button and I love her.

LARAGH: What an amazing characterization

WRACKWONDER: I love baby Willa, not necessarily TV show Willa although I love [several inaudible words]

LARAGH: We have feelings about Willa, TV show Willa, not baby Willa.  So I guess stemming from that conversation what made you picture or inspire this whole family unit that you created.

WRACKWONDER: I think I was having a conversation with a friend about the time I published “Nothing Compares”, or maybe even before because I remember I wanted to write Wayhaught but I can’t write until I understand their voices and Waverly was clear and at the time Nicole wasn’t because she hadn’t had a lot of screen time and she even had a strange accent at that point.  And it was a bit hard to sort of picture what this would look like. So once I started to hear Nicole this friend said to me, “Well, if they had kids their names would be Wyatt, Willa and Wynne.” And after that I was like, “yep, that’s a go” like their the Wyatt Earp babies and that sort of inspired… I knew there would be three. I didn’t know how they would appear and I didn’t know how many stories I would write but I knew there would be three.

DARKWICCAN: Excellent.  Definitive. The power of three, boom.

LARAGH: Oh yes, they could be the next charmed ones.

DARKWICCAN: Oh dear [Laughter]  That would be adorable with his little glasses.

LARAGH: Wyatt was the baby in Charmed as well.

DARKWICCAN : Oh, was he?  That’s so funny. I didn’t watch the original series so I don’t … I don’t know.  So you dive into some pretty heavy topics in this series. You take advantage of your author’s privilege to really dig into dealing with some heavy angst.  And one of the biggest things that you have created for our gals to overcome is the birth of their third child, Wynne, is incredibly traumatic. Waverly almost dies, it’s a whole thing.  So was it difficult writing Nicole’s really PTSD reaction to that whole scenario? Was it hard getting into her head space and living with that?

WRACKWONDER: You know I never want to say writing is easy because it never is.  But I, in some ways for me writing trauma is easier because there’s so much to work with.  And I think one of the things with Nicole and Waverly, and this happens when you see relationships on television and in films they tend to be very romanticized, as I said they tend to be very heightened and when you’re writing them it comes to the question of how would this character react in a very real life situation.  I mean, on the show they’re reacting to, you know, a demon is going to hurt them. But how do you react to someone struggling with pregnancy or a premature baby, or how do you react to that? And I don’t want to say it’s more interesting to me but I’d always rather write that than writing a vampire attack, and I love a good vampire attack.  And so it’s not like it was difficult but maybe for some reason it was because I haven’t experienced that particular trauma personally and I very much hope I don’t. But it wasn’t, maybe because it wasn’t so personal, and I was able to do it where sometimes things that I’ve written that are more personal have been, they’ve sort of felt like clawing my guts out but this felt like I really wanted to give Nicole almost this time I wanted to shine a spotlight on her and be like, “you’re allowed to have feelings, have them.”  You know, in a week what happens when Nicole can’t stand up, what happens, what does that look like, what does Waverly do, that’s kind of… it wasn’t like it was easy to write, it’s just like there was so much to work with, those pieces I think there’s, I’m trying to think, I think there’s three chapters in total of that sort of Wynne birth piece. Those were not the most fun obviously. I just kind of felt like excited in writing them.

DARKWICCAN: In writing through Nicole’s reaction what was informing your choices with Nicole?

WRACKWONDER:  One of the things when writing Nicole is Waverly is very much the center of her universe, and while her universe is very full, if Waverly’s out of the picture what does that look like?  So I wanted the source of her trauma… while she certainly is traumatised about the fact that her son was born prematurely, a lot of her reaction comes from the fact that she wasn’t there, that she in some ways drove the hope for this pregnancy and she almost did lose Waverly.  It’s like she almost lost this person that cracked her in a way, she almost can’t put herself back together. I think, I mean Nicole interests me a lot and always has. And I think I just wanted to really dig into her skull in a non-surgically invasive way and sort of give her that time to fall apart.

DARKWICCAN: And boy howdy did she.  But she’s coming back, she’s coming back.

WRACKWONDER: Well listen, life is so full of little traumas and I think a lot of people, including myself, have mental health issues and struggles and so I don’t love the idea of a perfect character.  I do love the idea that Waverly describes Nicole as loyal and brave and good at being good, and she is all those amazing things, but people like that can also be anxious and depressed all at the same time so I think that’s part of what I wanted to explore in this series too.  To sort of take Nicole off the pedestal because the pedestal’s far away and untouchable and who wants to live on a pedestal?

LARAGH: Wonderfully done.

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I mean it’s so high up there.

WRACKWONDER: I don’t want to live on a pedestal!

DARKWICCAN: Going to the bathroom alone is just a serious pain.

WRACKWONDER: Listen, my girlfriend’s tall but she’s not that tall and she can’t reach, listen I am so far from deserving of a pedestal…

[General laughter]

DARKWICCAN: I think you deserve a podium.

WRACKWONDER: Ah, listen, a podium would be lovely if it came with pay check and health benefits.

[Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: And tenure.

WRACKWONDER: Listen, I’ve had podiums but I’ve fallen off them literally in front of people so.

[Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So a podium with a seat behind it and a seat belt.  What are you hoping to see happen in season four. Not necessary with Wayhaught but with the Wynaught BroTP?

WRACKWONDER: Um, listen I think there’s a lot to unpack from season three.  I think Wynonna made some decisions for Nicole that weren’t necessarily her’s to make. And I think that there needs to be some sort of balance in this sort of beautiful triangle that is Wynonna and Waverly and Nicole.  And I don’t think being in a relationship means you need to give up your relationships with other people, if anything I think it’s the exact opposite of that. But I think different people give you different things. And so I would like to see some boundaries but also some discussion of how do we make this all work together, if that makes sense.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, absolutely.  I completely agree with you there that Wynonna made some decisions on Nicole’s behalf that she did not have the right to do.  I am also curious, you talked earlier about seeing Nicole go through difficulty and having that kind of, seeing that side of her that isn’t you know the “everything’s under control” side that we typically see.  Are you hopeful that with Waverly’s predicament that she was left in at the end of season three that we will get to see a Nicole that’s a bit on edge and maybe a little bit emotional, or very emotional, and not as in control as she typically has been.

WRACKWONDER: Yeah, I want to see her go dark.  I would love to see a very dark Nicole, just because I think that interesting and as I’ve said I love the comedy of the show, I really do, but I think it also does trauma in a way that a lot of show’s don’t and I want to see that fully explored.  You know, I mean, think about this from Nicole’s point of view, she was drugged, we don’t know where she is right now, but she’s going to wake up and Waverly will be gone and she was unconscious and drugged against her will which obviously she was.  I mean that’s dark, maybe you could find comedy in it, and I’m sure they will somehow but that is dark and sort of I’d like to see the darkness. Because also I think Nicole deserves to have that shade in her life, people are allowed feel their feelings so I want to see Nicole go there.

DARKWICCAN: And the good news is that I think Kat wants that as well, she’s been kind of vocal about that and so hopefully Emily and crew will take that into account when they’re writing.  And I don’t see how they can’t, honestly.

WRACKWONDER: Yeah, I’m really curious about season four, there were things about season three, I thought the first half of season three was some of the tightest best writing I’d ever seen.  That Jolene episode, you know we talked about it non-stop. But, you know, that sort of thing, you can’t do that every episode. But I do think every character sort of deserves their chance on the wheel so to speak, or however you want to refer to it. So yeah, I’m curious to see how season four launches.

DARKWICCAN : I honestly, I don’t know if it’s eligible, as a Canadian show, I don’t know the requirements to be submitted for an Emmy. But I honestly feel if they were going to submit an episode in consideration for an Emmy it would be Jolene.

WRACKWONDER: Yeah, obviously you can see from the stuff I write, obviously I tend to… I’m drawn to the dark, for many reasons.  Even though I try not to necessarily be a dark person, although win some lose some, but I think Jolene did something fairly remarkable that I think we maybe haven’t seen on television before.  So yeah I do wish they would get more accolades for something like that because it was extraordinary.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, and I think the more accolades that type of an episode gets the more likely we’re going to get something of the same calibre, not the same context, but the same calibre in going forward.

WRACKWONDER: Yeah, I’ve spoken about this before too but I think what Emily does in a really beautiful way is she takes tropes that are commonly attributed to heterosexual couples and gives them to queer couples which makes them new again.  So I want to see Waverly and Nicole’s reunion and I want it to be romantic and over the top and ridiculous because I feel like they’ve earned that and they deserve it. I want to see these heightened emotions and these romantic cliches. Not in a cheesy way because I don’t think Wynonna… I think the writers are good at making them new and not feel tired but I want that for them, I want that development for them.

DARKWICCAN: And unlike other shows I think we might actually get that with Wynonna Earp.

WRACKWONDER: Yeah, I mean it’s funny, you know I’m in the middle of writing a multi-fic right now and I’m sort of exploring some of these questions and answers that we’re discussing and I feel like we’re in my head space at the moment and I’m thinking about stuff a lot, so I’m excited to see what they come up with for season four and where it goes.

DARKWICCAN : My hope, my hope for season four is that after everybody gets back from wherever the heck they are, and they’re all on the same plane of existence again and they can sit down and have a conversation.  My hope is that we get the onscreen conversations that we need these characters to have rather than references to conversations that they had offscreen letting us know that they’ve talked about it. We as viewers, and I think the characters too, deserve to have those conversations.

WRACKWONDER: Yeah, I mean TVs so funny right?  It’s a hard balance, and it’s a fast paced action show but the show does conversations between these characters so well, and so succinctly so I think not only are they capable, we know they’re capable and we’ve seen it, so yeah I’d love to see some conversations and I think it was the incredible Bootsncatz that said, “relationships grow no matter how long you’ve been in a relationship,” so even though Waverly and Nicole have been in a relationship for a year or something like that there’s still growth and there’s still stuff they need to figure out and you experience new levels and new things and you have different discussions and so I’d love to see some of that growth on screen between all the fun we’re used to with monsters and all that kind of stuff.  So definitely I’d love to see some of that onscreen.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, yeah, well this has been an awesome conversation, speaking of great conversations.

LARAGH: Yeah.

WRACKWONDER: Oh yes, well you know, we could go on.

DARKWICCAN: We could go on, we could, unfortunately we have run out of time, this time.  This time. There will be more conversations in the future that will be equally as fantastic.  But until we meet again my dear friend we of course have one final question that we must ask you.  Now, you’ve been on the show before, you’ve had the desert island question before so you don’t get it again.

WRACKWONDER: That one’s scary.

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, you have committed to that answer, and it’s on tape and we’re moving on.  We have a new question for you that Laragh is going to ask.

LARAGH: So, what genre of fic would you like to try your hand at that you haven’t yet?

WRACKWONDER: That’s a good question.  I would love to write some gothic horror.

DARKWICCAN: [Gasps with glee] [possibly sound of hands being rubbed together]

WRACKWONDER: That’s sort of a big part of my heart, it’s a lot of what I like to read, it’s a lot of when I’m teaching it’s what I like to teach.  I’d love to write it, I’m not sure for fanfiction, it might be time for me to try my hand at some of my own stuff but we will see. Yes, if I could try my hand at something gothic I would be a happy camper.

LARAGH: So would we!

DARKWICCAN: I would love that.  Yes, we would be happy campers.

WRACKWONDER: Give me crumbling houses, and torturous twins and strange and unusual things that go bump in the night.  That’s my happy place.

DARKWICCAN : Maybe you could write some Haunting of Hill House fanfiction.

WRACKWONDER: Oh god, don’t get me started.

DARKWICCAN: That’s a conversation for another time!  

WRACKWONDER: Don’t think I don’t have a one shot idea that’s knocked around my head.

DARKWICCAN: Ooh, ooh, ooh.  I look forward to when you send me the link.  Well WrackWonder thank you so so much for coming on to chat with me again.  I cannot wait to have you on again so we can just go on and on and talk about our favorite show and our favorite characters and fanfiction and all that jazz.

WRACKWONDER: Thanks for having me on and thank you and you know, thank you for the work you do because I do think you bring a lot of legitimacy and respect to our little genre so thank you so much. 

LARAGH: Yes DW I agree, you do so much work in this area, it’s amazing.

DARKWICCAN : [Small humble voice] Oh guys, thank you.  Ok everybody have a great week

WRACKWONDER:  Have a good one folks, be safe.

  
  
And that'S all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.   
  
Many thanks to WrackWonder for coming back on the show to chat about her 'Home' series!   
  
  
Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro    
  
Background music for the episode was:   
  
A Proper Story  by Darren Korb   
  
Undiscovered Waters by Alec Holowka   
  
Rynoka Variations by David Fenn   
  
and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan   
  
  
If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast.    
  
And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.   
  
And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.   
  
  
Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast
> 
> We're also on iTunes!


	9. Kat on a Haught Fic Cue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IT'S THE EARP FICTION ADDICTION HOLIDAY SPECIAL!!!
> 
> DarkWiccan, Delayne and Laragh pull on their Santa hats and elf ears and enjoy a nice cup of eggnog by the fire while they share their favorite Kat Barrell prompt-inspired fics! And then...
> 
> THEY CHAT WITH KAT BARRELL!! 
> 
> But, you know... they're cool about it.* 
> 
> Join us for this extra special episode!
> 
> *debatable

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/kat-on-a-haught-fic-cue)

 

Read the Fics!

['Swimming Introvert](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12000369%20)' by Toadamie

['Strike a Match'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12390327) by slambage

['i'll follow you into the light (if you say we'll be alright)'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12589160) by [l_grace_b](https://twitter.com/TeachEarp_)

['You're Going to Find Your Way Back Home'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12512120) by [thegaysmurf](https://twitter.com/iamthegaysmurf)

 

Episode artwork by: [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

Transcript by MrsBlueBacon

 

EFA Episode 209- Kat on a Haught Fic Cue

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy and welcome everybody to this very special holiday episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me, full to the brim with holiday cheer are my adorable elven co-hosts, Delayne...

 

DELAYNE : Hello.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and Laragh.

 

LARAGH : Hi.

 

DARKWICCAN : Happy holidays, you two.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Happy holidays to you, too.

 

LARAGH : Happy holidays to you, too. I do love this holiday season.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Yes, should we run down the roster of holidays that we celebrate?

 

LARAGH : Oh boy.

 

DARKWICCAN : Or that are celebrated.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, it’s a lot.

 

LARAGH : It’s a lot.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s a lot, yeah. It’s a lot. Ok. So, we wanna say first of all: happy holidays in general, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Solstice, and of course, a Joyous Festivus to all of you airing your grievances this week.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] We hope one of your grievances won’t be with us.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, we hope…[laughter] Yes, we hope that we’re not on the list of grievances to be aired, absolutely.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That was...

 

DARKWICCAN : So, of course, this is the gift giving season, and all of the holidays we mentioned, with, I think, perhaps the exception of festivus, involve some sort of gift exchange. And so this episode we have decided to dedicate our theme to the gift of Kat Barrell prompts.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That’s a beautiful gift, that she gives us.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is a lovely gift. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, quite honestly. Now Kat has issued quite a few prompts, whether intentionally or not.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Over the past few years of attending conventions and doing Reddit AMA’s and whatnot. And so, as a result, quite a few really excellent fics have come out of these prompts. And, those, that’s what we’re talkin’ about today. If y’all don’t mind.

 

DELAYNE : I don’t mind.

 

LARAGH : I am very happy to, uh, to discuss anything Kat Barrell.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] Really, it wasn’t difficult. When I messaged you guys, I said “hey you guys. I wanna do an episode that’s all about fics that came from Kat Barrell prompts.” You were both like “oh, well, twist our arms why don’t ya.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That was a very good impression of me, I must say.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] It’s almost like I know you well, or something. Ok, so, there are two types of prompts when it comes to Kat Barrell. There are the genuine prompts, where she knows she’s giving a prompt and it’s very clear that it is definitely an inspirational prompt for writers. And then there are the, what I call the interpreted prompts, meaning they are statements that Kat has made, or questions she’s asked in panels, usually panels at conventions, that then become interpreted by fic authors to be a prompt to write off of. Or interpreted by fan artists to kinda take those ideas and run with them. So, so those are the two baseline prompts that Kat has given in the past. Now the majority of the fics we’re talking about today are from interpreted prompts, or unintentional prompts. Uh, but we do have one that I think is the crown jewel of Kat Barrell prompt responses, uh, that we’re gonna talk about towards the end of the segment that is definitely from a genuine, intentional, prompt. But we’ll get to that. We’ll get to that. But why don’t we start off with the shortest of the few fics we’ve picked today. Laragh, I believe that uh, the ball is now in your court.

 

LARAGH : So, our first fic is called “Swimming Introvert” and it is by toadam[ie]ay, toadam[ie]i, is that how you pronounce her name? Anyway, it’s “Swimming Introvert” and it is based on uh, Kat saying that if she had a superpower, it would be to breathe underwater, and that her name would be The Swimming Introvert.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Which is so cute.

 

LARAGH : And then I believe Dom followed that up by saying that she would want to fly.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

LARAGH : So, the author took these two answers and mashed them together into a superhero AU. And let me tell you guys, there is not enough superhero AUs in the fanfiction world. I love ‘em. They are amazing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Wait, are you serious right now?

 

LARAGH : Yeah! I am deadly serious. I’m one hundred percent. When am I ever not serious, DW, seriously?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] You don’t want me to answer that question.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] No, I love ‘em. I love the superhero AU ‘cause they’re campy and they’re fun and they’re just great. Um, and this is them, Nicole and Waverly, as superheroes, who happen to meet in the middle of the ocean and kind of dork out together, and go for a donut, and it’s amazing.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you interpreted this work as a superhero AU?

 

LARAGH : Yeah, why not?

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, because, I don’t know. I didn’t read it that way. I just sort of read it as here are these two individuals who just happen to have these abilities.

 

DELAYNE : Well, it’s a superpower.

 

LARAGH : The, the, the, the question asked was what superpower, so I brought that to superhero.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. No, that’s fair. That’s a reasonable, logical leap. I guess, ya know, it’s one thing to have a superpower, it’s another thing to use it for good. Not that they’re using it for bad.

 

LARAGH : Ok, well, ok, well, I will change it to superpower AU then. How about that? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, ok. Yeah. [laughter] ‘Cause it’s one of those things where...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : We’re gonna fight on this episode. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] It’s the holidays, Laragh. Families fight. It’s part of it.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my god, I love it.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s part of the experience. [laughter] No, no, I guess what I meant is that I didn’t take from it that. Now, I’m not saying they aren’t superheroes. I’m just saying that I didn’t take that from it, simply because in their narrative, they don’t think back on their superheroic exploits. It’s more like this is a Saturday morning, ya know, and they’re just out doin’ their thing before they go home and get dressed and go to work. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Right, but like, I mean even in the show, Nicole and Waverly are normal people, but I would still consider them superheroes because they’re saving the world every week. Or every year, whatever they’re doing. So, I will fight you. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : They. They’re. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] I will fight you over this.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, listen, considering that you. No, I can’t make that joke. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : And here I am, sitting in the middle and not saying anything. That is me. [laughter] You two. I see both of your sides. Very excellent points.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Though, I do agree with Laragh that we do need more superhero AUs.

 

LARAGH : Or superpower, just to be...just to be clear.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : We need more of both of those things.

 

LARAGH : Yes, ok. I will agree. I will stipulate to that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] One thing I...ya know what...ok, here’s what I...I really enjoyed this fic. It was sweet. It’s just a cute little, um, one shot, and what I really like about it, is these two individuals who have never met before in their lives, and are literally existing in totally different environments, when they come across each other. Obviously Waverly notices Nicole first. But when they become aware of each other, when Nicole is finally aware of Waverly’s presence, it’s not a “oh my god”, it’s more of a “oh, oh hey there.” Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] “Oh hey.”

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Right. No, they are. They’re just like...she’s just kind of drawn to her, but not in a vague overstated way. It’s just like “oh hey, there’s this cute chick swimming down there in the middle of the ocean. I’ll go say hey.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Exactly. They’re like “heeey [sic]. You wanna go get a donut?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : That is literally exactly what happens.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : I liked the imagery of how Waverly’s hair was touching the water and that was like her mission for the breach for them to break through into each other’s worlds.

 

LARAGH : Oh, damn. You got deep Delayne. [laughter] I didn’t go that deep, but to be perfectly honest, I was like “they’re being cute dorks together”.

 

DELAYNE : Well, that was the thing that stood out to me. That moment where Nicole was like...yeah, anyway. Just go read it. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : It’s very short. You’ll read it quickly and it’s fun.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, it’s adorable.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it is. So, again, that’s the “Swimming Introvert” by toadamie. Not toadayou [sic]. toadamie.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Oh god.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Can I disassociate myself from that joke?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, you can. Yes you can, absolutely.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Moving quickly along. So, so, the next fic I’m just gonna mention because we haven’t talked about it on the show before, uh, but it is technically written from an interpreted prompt by Kat Barrell. And the uh, the prompt was, essentially, where would Nicole take Waverly on vacation, and the answer that Kat gave was to a, what was it again Delayne? A um.

 

DELAYNE : It was a glass pod hotel on a mountain side. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, yes. So, they’d wake up essentially in nature, but still safe from nature. [laughter] Um, but uh, so that was essentially the prompt. And RaeDMagdon took that idea and wrote a piece called “Sunrise”, and we featured this piece in our season one episode “Plot? What Plot?” So, if you wanna learn more about the fic, go ahead and check out episode twenty-six of season one. That’s “Plot? What Plot?” for “Sunrise” by RaeDMagdon.

 

DELAYNE : Alright, so, let’s go ahead and talk about “Strike A Match” by slambage. And this is another interpreted prompt, um. Kat said something about a fair date at EarperCon. Is that?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it was at the first EarperCon UK.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, uh, and so uh, slambage decided to take a look at Nicole and Waverly on a date at the fair. It is AU, so, they’re like in high school. But it is sweet and adorable and, of course it ends on the ferris wheel ‘cause all fair dates should end with kisses on the ferris wheel.

 

LARAGH : So  _ Love, Simon _ . I love it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, before we knew about  _ Love, Simon _ . I mean, I know the book was out, but I think, uh, the at-large um, we didn’t know about  _ Love, Simon _ , so.

 

LARAGH : No, we did not.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, also, I love the fact that Waverly isn’t sure...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...for a very long time whether this was actually a date, or if it’s just two buds hangin’ out a the fair.

 

LARAGH : Which is just so gay.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is so gay! That is such a gay thing. “Is this a...I don’t know if it’s a date. Should I ask? I probably shouldn’t ask. I should probably just not assume.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, I, [laughter] that happens does it? Like “are we hangin’ out? Are we dating? I don’t know.”

 

DARKWICCAN : So that was “Strike A Match” by slambage, and it’s adorable and everyone should go read it. Alright, so the next piece is, yet again, another interpreted prompt. Uh, this was taken from, I wanna say DragonCon, when uh, Kat was asked how did Nicole feel about Waverly kissing Rosita. And Kat’s answer was that Nicole would be like “babe, it’s ok” ya know, ‘cause she’s an adult, and she understands there’s a difference between impulsive action and intended action, so [laughter] and that made me so very happy. I was like “yes, that is an adult thing to say. Thank you Kat Barrell.”

 

LARAGH : I actually can vouch for that because how she talked to me about it at the time is exactly her reaction.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, it’s so true. I had to talk Laragh off a ledge, if I may say so.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, no, she did.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I was just like “would you calm down, that was not cheating.”

 

LARAGH : Let’s not go there again. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : No, let’s not. Ok. [laughter] Let’s talk about this fic.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : The fic we’re talking about here, uh, is called “i’ll follow you into the light (if you say we’ll be alright)” by l_grace_b. And it is a wonderful, cathartic fic.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, essentially, it is a sorry party. And, yeah, and it was one of the first fics to sort of tackle the sorry party idea in a way that felt more organic, I think, and less, like a set up. If that makes any sort of sense. Like, their conversation just sort of comes out of what they [deep breath] are reeling from. Which was, essentially, just having to deal with the end of season two.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : The aftermath of Alice and everything.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it’s the aftermath. So instead of it being a setup where Nicole comes home and Waverly’s sitting there with sorry party hats. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Yeah, it’s yeah. It’s different to our season three sorry party that we saw, and ya know, it’s not all balloons and teddy bears. It’s just a really raw, honest conversation.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, and it starts off with a conversation about the status of Nicole’s divorce with Shae, and Nicole offering a bit more backstory to her relationship with Shae because she wants to be honest. She tired of, ya know, she’s lied twice to Waverly at this point. Big lies, not little lies.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : One was the lie of omission. The other was sneaking the, sneak peak at the DNA results, so Nicole is like “I’m not doing that anymore. I’m layin’ all my cards on the table.” So she starts off giving, ya know, a very honest, fair account of her relationship with Shae and how it came to be and why it fell apart. And why they ended up staying together. And a lot of it is speculation within, that happened within the fandom...

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...anyway, you know, so the ideas that l_grace_b has Nicole putting forward, aren’t out of left field. They’re all very logical and drawn from conversations that had occurred within the fandom about Nicole’s relationship with Shae. And it was handled very maturely. And this entire, that’s the thing I love about this fic, the entire thing is so mature, and even though there are moments of high emotion and I won’t go so far as to say angst because I really don’t feel like this is an angsty piece. But there are moments where feelings run pretty deep, um, and get a little tense, but they never tick over into melodrama, which I am very grateful for. So, so basically Nicole essentially bares her soul, ya know, apologizes, gives her apology, gives her history to Waverly, and then Waverly is like “well, now I gotta come clean about what I did.” [laughter] And she does. She explains what happens with Rosita, and Nicole, at first, is like a little wide-eyed, like “oh, that happened.” But then she’s like, “ok” [whispers] thank you. And so the conversation that happens after that point is, again, very sweet and very mature and thoughtful and it’s just a great, well written, well handled fic, and ultimately very, very sweet. And so I really, I love this story so much, and I recommend everybody, everybody take this, ten, twenty minutes out of their day and sit down and read this story. Um, again, it’s called “i’ll follow you into the light (if you say we’ll be alright)” by l_grace_b. Ok, so that brings us...

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...to our last fic of the day, and as we teased at the top of the episode, this is the one fic that is from a genuine Kat Barrell prompt. When she knew that is what she was doing at the time.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : This is from the Reddit AMA prompt, where Kat said “Waverly and Nicole roadtrip the California coast on the PCH, but they run out of gas in the middle of the desert. What is their night alone in the middle of nowhere like? Is it romantic adventure or terrifying disaster?” So that was a very clear, genuine prompt given by Kat in her Reddit AMA a couple years ago.

 

DELAYNE : And TheGaySmurf took this prompt and ran with it in the most beautiful way.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeees [sic]. Oh my gosh, this story.

 

LARAGH : So good.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is so amazing. It’s called “You’re Going to Find Your Way Back Home”, but most readers know it simply by it’s secondary title “Spooky Roadtrip”.

 

LARAGH : “Spooky Roadtrip” [said at the same time as DarkWiccan]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I like how we’re talking about “Spooky Roadtrip” on a holiday episode. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, I mean,  _ A Christmas Carol _ was a ghost story, so.

 

DELAYNE : Hey.

 

LARAGH : Well, you’re not wrong.

 

DARKWICCAN : I am not wrong.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] So, there, it’s very appropriate, and it is a beautiful prompt by Kat, and TheGaySmurf went ahead and uh, went less romantic adventure, but still kind of, but also, mostly a terrifying disaster.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : But in a really, like, sweet way.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I know.

 

DELAYNE : That’s why... 

 

LARAGH : It’s, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And Smurf being Smurf, not only does she do all the things. Make it both terrifying and romantic. She also decides to throw in some old west history.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, she did a ton of research on the mythology of the ghosts that supposedly haunt along the PCH. That’s the Pacific Coast Highway in California. She did a ton of research. And she took these several different, most popular ghosties [sic], or myths, and merged them together into a related storyline.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, it’s so, so brilliant.

 

LARAGH : Ooh, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, it is.

 

LARAGH : It’s, it’s just fantastic. It’s. Yeah. It totally relates back to them at the end, and it’s just, its just. Ya know what I really loved about this? Was that we got to see Nicole and Waverly kind of solving a case and  kicking ass together.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. We haven’t seen that.

 

LARAGH : Because we haven’t seen that. [said at the same time as DarkWiccan]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Excellent point.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : I’m just blown away right now. Like, I’ve now become “what are words?” I can’t talk. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : That’s not very good when you’re a podcast host, Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Don’t tell people.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : No, but serious. Seriously. Seriously folks. Seriously folks. No, it is such a well thought out, cleanly plotted story that Smurf has developed here, and really takes advantage of all of the skillsets that we know that these two characters have from canon, but we rarely get to see them use. Like, for example, when they are encountering a ghost, I won’t say which one, but they’re encountering a ghost, and they’re trying to communicate with it, and Waverly immediately recognizes that she’s speaking Spanish. Well, we know that Waverly is multi-lingual, and so Smurf takes full advantage of this and has Waverly try to communicate with this ghost, not only in Spanish, but in German and in French. Just like trying all these different languages just to see if one of them will work, even though it’s clear the ghost is speaking Spanish. The ghost isn’t responding to her trying to address her in Spanish, and so, the uh, fact that Waverly just starts running through all these languages. I was like “yes, we don’t get to see that on the show despite the fact it is a canon trait.”

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : How amazing that we get to see this in action. So that was just really enjoyable, and also, um, Smurf’s background, as a small town police officer, or peace officer, bringing that, her knowledge and putting it into Nicole and how Nicole interfaces, interacts with the changing environment and different situations of different, varying degrees of danger.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, what? Yes. So, this is Smurf at her, at top form.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I think what makes this even more impressive, is that she wrote this at the same time as she was actively doing beta work on the eighties mixtape AU.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That’s a lot of work.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s a lot of work. So, yeah, it’s just, oh man. This story is incredible. It’s so, so good. And I love the fact that, stop me guys if you wanna interject what you love because I know I’m just sort of ramblin’ on here, but at, ok, the situations they find themselves in are increasingly dire and increasingly dangerous and at a point in the story, one of them is harmed, bodily. And not in a little scratch kind of way. In a definite injuress way that is impactful to them, and then later on, after the case is solved, ‘cause of course the case is gonna be solved, I don’t think that’s a spoiler.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : The case is solved and Waverly and Nicole are celebrating, things start to get a little heated and the one of them that’s injured is trying their best to, to give, in this scenario and they’re struggling. And that was so real, ya know. It wasn’t this perfect communion of two souls and bodies, despite the fact that they’ve just been through hell and are covered in muck and dirt. It was awkward, and...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...it was familiar. Ya know, you have these two individuals who have been together, ya know, at this point, for like over a year or so I think in this story, that um, Smurf is writing, so they really know each other and they’re past that initial feverish impulse with each other. Now it’s more like they, they know each other and they’re connected intimately, and it’s not always this sweeping romantic coming together. Ya know, it’s like, no this is awkward and it’s kind of funny and it’s frustrating and painful, and I just really, I just, I love that, I love that it wasn’t a perfect resolution, as they say.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Do you always put on a voice when you talk about sexy things?

 

DARKWICCAN : I do because I’m embarrassed.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s a defense mechanism.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Um, I agree with you, DW, I do like it when they write intimate scenes that are not perfect. Because how often does that happen in real life?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Nope. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] I plead the fifth.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I think Laragh was commenting on something there that we’re just gonna leave lie.

 

DELAYNE : Good plan. Anyways.

 

DARKWICCAN : Anywho.

 

DELAYNE : Don’t we have a joke about the, that we compare their two packing skills? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Do we have a joke?

 

LARAGH : Do we? I don’t know, Delayne, you didn’t read it, run this by us? Oh, do you mean there’s a joke in the story?

 

DELAYNE : There’s a joke in the story.

 

LARAGH : Oh, ok. I don’t, I can’t remember.

 

DARKWICCAN : If I’m casting my mind back, it’s a situation where Nicole is a far smarter packer, or prepper.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Oh, yes. Oh, right, yes. I know what you’re talking about. Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Than Waverly is.

 

DELAYNE : There’s at least one where “wait, why did you pack that?” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : But then in season three that became canon.

 

DARKWICCAN : It did.

 

LARAGH : That Nicole packs shit.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, she is a be prepared type, whether she was a part of a scouting organizing or not.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] “Of course I carry hatchets.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] “It’s Purgatory, Jeremy.” Uh, but yeah, so anyway, I can’t, I don’t think we can recommend this one enough. It is just so beautifully, fantastically written and conceived and executed. Everybody please. Run, don’t walk, check out “You’re Going to Find Your Way Back Home” by TheGaySmurf. It’s also known as “Spooky Roadtrip”, but if you’re on AO3, you need to look it up by it’s actual title, which is “You’re Going to Find Your Way Back Home” by TheGaySmurf. Obviously we’ll be providing links to all the fics we’ve talked about in this first segment, um, in our show description. But now, we would typically shift gears and go talk to the author of the last fic that we talked about.

 

DELAYNE : But that’s our standard operating procedure, yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that is our SOP. Yeah. But, we’re not gonna do that today. Because...

 

LARAGH : We’re not?

 

DARKWICCAN : We’re not. ‘Cause you know why? I have a better idea.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ok, I’m here for it. Please tell me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so, what is the premise of this episode?

 

LARAGH : Kat Barrell prompts.

 

DELAYNE : Kat Barrell prompts.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, so, why don’t we talk to Kat Barrell.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] I think that’s a swell idea, DW.

 

DARKWICCAN : You think that’s a swell idea?

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think that’s a great idea. Do you guys know how to get in touch with her?

 

DELAYNE : That is a brilliant idea.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so one of you call her up. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, obviously, obviously I’m kidding. Not about…

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...calling her up. But, I’m kidding in that we’re gonna do that.

 

DELAYNE : Yep. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Yep.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] We’re definitely gonna do that.

 

DARKWICCAN : We’re gonna talk to Kat Barrell.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my god.

 

LARAGH : We’re gonna do it you guys. I’m shitting myself.

 

DARKWICCAN : We’re doing this. [laughter] Yeah, I, in a moment of hubris, chatted with Kat at EH Con and asked her if she would be interested in coming on the show to talk, kind of around fanfiction, because she’s not able to actually read it currently, but we talked about how she has given prompts in the past and would she be interested in coming on the show and kind of talking about creativity and, and playing Nicole and all that fun stuff. So, she said “yeah, absolutely” and uh, I was like “great, I’m holding you to that”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And so…

 

DELAYNE : We made it happen.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...we managed to convince her to actually come on the show, so we’re gonna talk to her.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] You guys, we gotta get it together.

 

DARKWICCAN : We gotta get this together. Ok, deep breaths.

 

DELAYNE : I don’t think I’m gonna have it together, I’m sorry.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So yeah, that’s what we’re gonna do in our second segment today. Because this is our holiday special and why not do something incredible, right?

 

DELAYNE : Yay!

 

DARKWICCAN : Yay!

 

DELAYNE : That’s the best gift ever.

 

 

[CONTENT CENSORED - VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC : Walkie Talkie by Richard Maltby

 

DARKWICCAN : Hi everybody and welcome back to this very special edition of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am still your host, DarkWiccan, and with me are my fantabulous cohosts, Delayne-

 

DELAYNE : Hi.

 

DARKWICCAN : And Laragh.

 

LARAGH : Hey.

 

DARKWICCAN : And as we teased before the break, we are very excited to have with us as our guest, an individual very near and dear to all our hearts. A lady who needs no introduction, but we’re going to give her one anyway. Everyone, please welcome the amazingly talented, kind, generous, and extraordinary, Kat Barrell.

 

KAT : Wow, that was such a fancy intro. Thank you. Geez.

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re very welcome.

 

DELAYNE : She’s very good at what she does.

 

KAT : It’s so funny. I travelled to ClexaCon with my bestfriend that I’ve been like friends with since we were in grade six, and everyone says such nice things about me. And she’s like “I just wanna tell everyone, she’s not that great.” So, it’s pretty funny.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, I know that your friend has known you for your entire life, but I’d argue that we’re the right ones.

 

KAT : [laughter] She was joking. She really does love me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] Well, Kat, the reason why we’ve asked you on the show today, and again, we are so, so grateful that you agreed to come on and be so generous of your time with us, is that, obviously we talk about Earp related fanfiction on this show. Now, we know that you can’t have read any because...

 

KAT : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...you don’t want it to influence your performance, which makes complete and total sense. But you have given a number of prompts

 

KAT : I have, yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, what we’re gonna talk to you about today is more about the creative process and being involved in  _ Wynonna _ and also, ya know, queer stuff.

 

KAT : Awesome.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, yeah, we’ve got some questions for ya, so we might as well just kinda dive right in.

 

KAT : Let’s jump in.

 

LARAGH : Great, so um, I was wondering, do you remember the first creative project that inspired you to create something yourself?

 

KAT : Ooh, um, I don’t really know. I’ve been kind of making my own stuff since I was in, oh gosh, like elementary school. I’ve always kind of wanted to write plays and put them on, and then, um, so I feel like, I use to write a lot of poetry when I was a kid, and it’s kind of a shame I don’t do it anymore. I use to really enjoy that, and then i think, I grew up and got self conscious, and, I don’t know, it kind of derailed me from doing it, but I think I’ve always had this desire to kind of write my own things, or create my own worlds, or tell uh, stories that are living inside my head, and um, I think it just. I can’t really say a specific moment in time, but I think I’ve always just been very, very drawn to story telling as a creative outlet. But I’ve been doing it, like, since, I can remember every little kid puts on plays in their basement, but then I just kind of, once most kids outgrow that phase and I just kept going, and in high school...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KAT : ...I, um, I wrote a couple plays and actually got to put them on. ‘Cause my school had zero arts program. They were like “wow, this kid really likes this and we’re just using the stage to store hockey equipment, so I guess let her use it.” Um, so it was, yeah, it was kind of like this, this perfect opportunity of um, the, this deep need to create and not really having an outlet for that. So, making my own um, stuff because there wasn’t anything for me to participate in was actually kind of a blessing because it forced me to do, essentially, one more step, which was create the play that I wanted to be in, or whatever, so I don’t know. I just remember really wanting to, being really drawn to poetry from a really, really young age and writing a lot of poetry.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I mean, I, I think we all go through a poetic phase, for sure.

 

KAT : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, I think the fact that you started with poetry, that’s unique.

 

KAT : Is it? I, I mean, I guess. I don’t know. There was something about it. And I was really into music too. I don’t know what it was. It was like I had to do it. I think I just was born, I needed to make stuff. It’s kind of been this underlying theme of my life. I just have to make stuff. And I love the acting process, but I really do love being part of a story from an earlier, conceptual stage. I don’t know what it is, it just makes me really happy and satisfied, and, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I’m pretty sure all of the fic authors who are listening to this interview can absolutely relate to the need to create things, for sure.

 

KAT : Mmm. Yes.

 

DELAYNE : Kat, your words have really affected me. I mean, wow, it’s just, it’s being a fic author, it really is, it’s this need to create.

 

KAT : Mhmm. Yeah, it’s like it has to. Ya know, it’s funny, I was reading this amazing book, it’s called “Big Magic”. i don’t know if any of you guys have read it, but it’s the same woman who wrote “Eat, Pray, Love”, and uh, it’s about creativity, and uh she kind of describes it as um, this beautiful thing. And Maya Angelou actually wrote a poem about it, as well. This idea that creativity, that there’s all these ideas in like the collective unconscious of the world, or the collective conscious I guess, of the world, um, and they’re unconscious ideas, but um, but kind of like floating around in the ether. Just go with me for a second.

 

DARKWICCAN : We’re with you.

 

KAT : And the idea behind this book was that [laughter] was that…

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KAT : ...a creative idea that wants to come into being, almost like a spirit, will come to different people, different creators, and that person might take it and run with it for a little bit, but if that person’s not able to kind of give birth to it, so to speak, it moves onto somebody else. And I really loved that idea about creativity. Um, ya know, it kind of explained to me the idea...do you guys ever notice that like, for awhile there’ll be like a ton of vampire shows? And then for another time, now we’ve gotten to this incredible phase in the media where we’ve got shows like “[The] Handmaid’s Tale” and “[The] Marvelous Mrs. Maisey [ph][Maisel]”, which I just started watching, and um, or Maisel, Maisel. And um, like all of these kind of very female driven...I just feel like there are ideas floating around in the universe and they come in waves and they come to creators, so this whole thing about creating, it just feels like there’s a spirit that goes into you and is almost driving it, especially when you’re in the flow of creation that’s almost like driving the creation rather than you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yes.

 

KAT : I find. That’s been my experience of it and I think other artists I’ve talked to have kind of a similar relation to that sometimes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, man, absolutely. I think all three of us, myself, Delayne, and Laragh, have all said at times when we’re writing, that it feels like the characters just show up and tell us what to do. Ya know, they’re dictating to us, and we get...

 

KAT : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...the words down on the page. So, yeah, absolutely, moved by the spirit to write, for sure.

 

KAT : Yeah, I mean, I know it sounds kind of like ethereal in a way, but I really do feel like there’s something to it. And I feel, like the fact that so many creators have touched on this idea, and I know I’ve felt it too. And I can also feel when the creative spirit, or whatever you want to call it, leaves. Like, have you ever been super passionate about something and then you don’t work on it for awhile and you go back to it and it’s gone.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

KAT : And, I just find it interesting. It almost makes it easier, too, to let go of things that just aren’t working anymore, if you have that mindset, I find.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely.

 

KAT : Anyways, way to start off like super, super, uh, in depth, but  there you go.

 

DELAYNE : We really like to go deep here on Earp Fiction Addiction.

 

KAT : Yeah, obviously.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, let’s go deep. Yes.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, I do wanna bring it back around to why we have you here...

 

KAT : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...and uh, and that’s because of the prompts. And you have given numerous prompts. Both on the Reddit AMA’s and during the con panels.

 

KAT : Really?!

 

DELAYNE : So…

 

KAT : So this is really interesting because I actually...[said over Delayne]

 

DELAYNE : ...did you not realize you were providing the prompts? [said over Kat]

 

KAT : ...No, because I don’t know, ‘cause I never see, I don’t read the fanfics, so um, I have no idea what prompts I’ve given.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

KAT : Like is it just in answering questions, or questions like “What do you think Waverly and Nicole would do for their first date?” Like those types of things?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Right, so now that you are aware...[said over Kat]

 

KAT : Ah, ok. [said over Delayne] Got it. Fantastic. But I had no idea I was going that, so that’s really great.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But now that you are aware I guess…

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ...is that, are you gonna be careful what you say now, or just gonna let it go?

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

KAT : No, no, not at all. I’m just gonna let it go. I mean, you guys get to deal with the stupid things that come out of my mouth, so if you find them inspiring, that’s fantastic.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, speaking of conventions and uh, ya know, and meeting the fans, specifically meeting LGBTQ fans.

 

KAT : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : The character of Nicole is really become an iconic character for…

 

KAT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...the queer fan community because, uh, and this is something that we were all discussing before you joined us, in that she is absolutely relatable in ways that other queer characters have not been in the past.

 

KAT : Mmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : And one of the things that makes her so relatable is how she dresses and carries herself and how she communicates her queerness, essentially, on the show.

 

KAT : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I just have to ask, if after participating in so many LGBTQ and  _ Wynonan Earp _ centric fan conventions, and seeing how queer identifying fans outwardly express themselves. How they carry their bodies, or their clothing choices, or other personal style, has that affected how you portray Nicole?

 

KAT : That’s an excellent question. I’ve actually never gotten that question before. Um, I have to say I’ve never um, I’ve never physi...I’ve never actually made the decision of, “Oh, I’m gonna stand this way or hold myself this way or carry myself this way” because I think that’s, I feel like that’s a more lesbian choice. I’ve never...[laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KAT : ...I’ve never made that choice. I mean, perhaps what people are picking up on is just the, I mean, the way that Nicole is written and the type of person she is, maybe it manifests physically, but it’s never been a conscious choice for me. I mean, for me, it’s always that Nicole is very rooted, she’s grounded, she’s a cop, I wear this uniform and this very heavy belt. So, it’s all these things that kind of pull me closer to the Earth, and I feel like, I mean, I don’t know if that’s it, that she has a, like, less of a flighty energy about that, but it’s just not her. So, I like to think that it’s just her spirit and who she is, then comes through in the body. But I’ve not ever consciously thought about, “Oh, this is a very lesbian leaning position”. I’ve, no, that’s never, um, that’s never crossed my mind. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

KAT : Um, yeah, no, I have not. But I also, I don’t know, I feel like with Nicole, the only thing I really thought physically, was the fact that she was a cop, and I know I kind of pulled from like the days when I use to play a lot of basketball, and I had to be really rooted and grounded and strong, and like...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

KAT : ...attached to the Earth in a way. Um, that, I mean, that’s kind of the only thing I ever thought to identify it with some thing in my life, but I’ve never been a particularly, um, [sigh] light and flighty person. I’m very clumsy, but never flitty. I don’t know how else to explain it. It’s just not my energy.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah.

 

KAT : So, I think maybe my natural energy combined with Nicole’s energy must come out in a certain physicality, but it’s never conscious, no.

 

DARKWICCAN :  That’s fantastic. I think that’s great. Something that you discussed, have discussed previously, is that when you were selecting a wardrobe, or in the process of selecting a wardrobe for the first episode, and the vampire ball.

 

KAT : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : You told the wardrobe department, “Don’t put Nicole in a dress.”

 

KAT : Mhmm. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, I don’t think you know how much that meant to queer women.

 

KAT : Oh, I mean, that’s amazing. I just didn’t feel like it was her. I remember putting on the purple dress in first season and feeling so not like Nicole. The one step further I would have taken it, is they had me in these frickin’ like three and a half inch stilettos, and I wish I had said, “Don’t put me…” A) I don’t really wear heels myself. I’m very uncomfortable in them. I’m already a very tall woman, and then so to put heels on me, I just feel awkward, it doesn’t make me feel grounded. And, um, that was the only thing. I think we’re getting closer, but I would say that will be the last time Nicole will ever wear heels, but there also comes, as far as a, um, an actor, like in season one, you’re still trying to figure things out. And you also, by season three you just have such more of an ownership over your character, and you know them inside out. And also, once you’ve been there long enough, you feel like you have the um, I don’t wanna say, like, the right to say something. It’s an earned privilege to have input into a costume choice, right? It doesn’t just happen overnight. But I think once you’ve lived with a character for three seasons, if you say, “Look, I really…” I’ve actually changed or requested a lot of changes, not a lot, but um, there were several things that I was presented in season three that I chose not to wear, just ‘cause it doesn’t feel like Nicole. You put it on and I’m like “I don’t feel like her, so I don’t think this is what she would choose”, and the costume department is so amazing and open and they’re like “If you don’t like it, you’re not gonna wear it”. And, um, I really appreciate that, but uh, yeah, I mean it just didn’t feel, the dress, the flowy dress just felt wrong in the moment, but I didn’t really felt like I could quite say anything yet. And then, so by the time we were dressing up again two seasons later, I really was like “Do not put me in a dress, ‘cause.” And then we had to fight the vampires. [unintelligible]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, it’s not practical. It’s not practical for vampire slaying.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

KAT : No, I mean, Waverly makes it look really easy and good. I mean, Dominique can just. Dominique danced on, in four inch heels in like a mini skirt for years in, on the, on the London stage, so, that girl, she’s got it. I mean, I can’t. I just, I don’t have it in me. 

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KAT : I don’t have that muscle stability, I just don’t have it. So, I’m really glad that it um, that it meant something to the fans for sure, but honestly, they’re never choices of “Oh, this is a more like, what I think a lesbian would wear.” It’s not that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KAT : I just don’t think Nicole would wear it.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah.

 

LARAGH : So, stemming from that a little bit, you often share fan art that the fans have created on social media.

 

KAT : Yeah. Yeah.

 

LARAGH : And I’m wondering, has learning more about how Nicole is held up as such positive representation, has it influenced how you see her as a character?

 

KAT : Umm, in what regard, would you say, has it influenced how I see her?

 

LARAGH : Has it made you tap into any parts of her that um, ya know, as a queer character, and watching how queer people react to her?

 

KAT : Umm, I don’t think so. I think, um, for me, it’s really  important, and I actually try really hard, when we’re shooting, to not think about the fan reaction because I think it clouds my judgement as an actor.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

KAT : Because then I’m not thinking about serving the story, I’m thinking about almost serving my ego, in a way, and how I want people to react, and that’s not my job. So, I think, for me, I really try to not...I mean, it’s hard obviously, because I know how much the character means to people, and how much she means to me, I mean, Nicole changed my whole life. So, she’s very, very special to me, and um, I’m super protective of her, and I um, but I do really consciously try not to think about how people are going to react, how fans are going to react to uh, scenes because I just think that I’m just not really playing the scenes, so when I’m shooting I try to put it out of my head as much as possible. That’s why I do go a little quieter sometimes on social media, when we’re shooting as well. Just to help myself focus on the task at hand. I guess.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

KAT : Um, I don’t know if that really answered your question of how I view her.

 

LARAGH : Yep.

 

KAT : Um, I mean, she will always be, uh, very, very special to me and I know how much she means to um, ya know, hundreds of other people as well. Maybe even thousands, I guess, but um, yeah, I try not to let that influence my decisions as an actor, but I love her very much for it. That’s for sure.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : I’m curious as to the experience of playing Nicole, how will it influence your creative works and motivate you as a director or writer or producer in bringing queer representative content to the world.

 

KAT : Content. I think absolutely, like I cannot deny that my involvement with this community and the people I’ve met and the conversations I’ve had, just how much I’ve learned, um, about representation. I mean, I grew up in a very, very like liberal kind of. I grew up in a theater community and I grew up in, you know, in Toronto, Canada, which is a super liberal, amazing city, and so I guess I was just very unaware of how bad it was in other places, um, and uh, so that is something that I, just the importance of representation and how incredibly positive um, it can be. I mean, it’s the greatest gift, if somebody who does this type of work, because all you ever want is for your characters is to affect people and to make them feel something. Whether it be, ya know, a cathartic experience for them, or a way for them to rewrite a bit of their own history, or whatever it is. But I, um, I think, for sure. I mean, I will never be able to unknow this experience, and I will carry it with me through everything I do and I will always look at everything through the lens of this community, and how ya know, how I can further contribute to more positive representation, if I’m in a position and I’m able. Absolutely.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s exciting. [laughter] That’s really exciting.

 

KAT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, speaking of the actors’ process just a little bit. It’s reasonably well known, that actors will create backstories…

 

KAT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...for their characters to help kind of flush them out and give them internal weight, and give more clarity to, at least you as the actor are aware of, for their motivations, whatever they’re doing. Uh, what’s less known, is that there’s a process of creating a fantasy future for their characters to secretly strive for. Did you do this for Nicole, and if so, have her future desires changed as you’ve learned more of Emily’s backstory for her?

 

KAT : Fantasy future. Ya know, I have to say honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever consciously sat down and pictured Nicole’s fantasy future. I think I know her wants and her desires and her motivation.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

KAT : Um, but I don’t...I’ve never done that for a character actually. It would be an interesting exercise, I mean, I would also be concerned that I would be not as open to that changing perhaps, if I was so, kind of, locked into it. Um, the thing with creating a future for a character, is that a past is something that you can fill in, but a future means that, [sigh] I don’t, see, for me, if I think about Katherine’s future, and my fantasy future, I can do that because I’m me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

KAT : I’m the only author of my own story, but whereas for Nicole, I’m not the only author of her story. So, I think getting too detailed about a future for a character I think, knowing her wants, knowing her desires, and knowing what motivates her everyday, absolutely, and I definitely know that. But, I think any more than that almost could become detrimental to the process, in my opinion. Every actor is different, but for me I would not, I would hesitate to do too much more than that because, she’s not my character, I’m just her body, right. Her mind is Emily’s.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s really interesting.

 

KAT : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : There’s some great sound bites of that, too. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Yeah, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s something I hadn’t thought about, ‘cause actually, my background is in theater, and um, so, I’m not gonna go off on a tangent here, but, uh, but creating a fantasy future was something that was part of uh, my, my process when I was actively on stage, uh, but that’s different because when you’re doing a play, you have a piece of work that’s finished.

 

KAT : It’s final.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly.

 

KAT : Yeah, yeah. Exactly. I could see that definitely working for theater, and that’s definitely, I’m interested. I’ve never really been presented with the idea before, so I’m very interested to, maybe the next time, god, the next time I hopefully get on a stage, which hasn’t been, it’s been so long since I did theater, and I really miss it, but um, yeah, definitely, but I do think, like you said, because it’s an ever evolving story, that none of us ever know the end to, I just wonder if it would be too pigeon-holey.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

KAT : Very technical term.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s a great term. It should be put into Webster’s, TootSuite.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

KAT : [laughter] TootSuite.

 

LARAGH : So, um, Kat, before this role, um, I know you’ve learned a lot about the LGBTQ community from playing Nicole, but before, were you aware just how much fan art, and fanfiction, and just fan works in general, were utilized by the community and particularly in terms of representation to feel validated and represented?

 

KAT : I was not. No, I was not. Um, I was not really ever part of a fan community of any kind, to be honest. I um, so I wasn’t really aware of fan culture at all. I didn’t realize that art and fanfiction and, I mean it completely makes sense to me, I guess I just had never really thought about it. And I know that sounds really ridiculous, um, but I guess I wasn’t aware that there were so many fan communities for all these different shows out there in the world, creating their own stuff. And I just, I love it. I wish I had known about fan culture sooner because I think I really would have got into some stuff. Um, because I loved creating. I was really into musical theater more when I was younger. Which is so funny to me ‘cause I’m so not even into it anymore.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KAT : But, I can’t, I watched a musical um, I went to a musical play, or a stage musical a few months ago, and I was like, “Oh god, I can’t. I can’t handle this anymore. What happened? I went to school for musical theater. I thought that’s what I wanted to do.” So, I was really into musical theater, but and theater, I guess, more so when I was a teenager. So that’s why I kind of missed the whole fanfiction thing, which I almost feel like is just, I mean people find it at all stages of life, but I think when you find it as a young person, as a teenager, it’s particularly impactful moving you into the future. Um, so, no, I wasn’t really aware of fan culture at all. It’s been a learning curve on many fronts for me. But I love it and I love that, I mean especially at ComicCon, when I see cosplay and um, ya know, how into it people get and how passionate they get, I just think, I always turn to Emily and I’m like “you made this. This was like in your head and now people are doing their own thing with it.” Like, that must be crazy. I mean, if I think it’s crazy for someone doing stuff for Nicole, I can only imagine Emily going to like Earper cons, Earp specific conventions. I just, that must blow her mind. So, um, yeah, I wish I was aware of fan culture sooner, but uh, I was not unfortunately.

 

DELAYNE : So, Kat, you’ve often said that you viewed Nicole as a sep...as an entirely separate person to yourself, in fact, I think you’ve already mentioned it once as we’ve spoken, but uh, has this mindset allowed you to enjoy watching others play her character, of course, not so much in fics, but ya know, the cosplay and the fanart?

 

KAT : Yeah. Oh, I love it. I think it’s really great. I mean, it’s amazing to see the traits that people pick up on, and it’s just very indicative of, ya know, what aspects of Nicole are resonating the most with people. Um, I find that people really love her. It’s funny, because I think the one thing about Nicole that I really admire because I don’t always feel it myself, is her confidence, and uh, it’s really nice, especially when I see cosplay competitions, because I will see people pick up on her swagger and confidence.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

KAT : And, yeah, I know it’s just, I just really um, I really love that because I’m really glad that comes out in the character. I uh, I feel it’s one of my favorite traits about her and it’s one of the things I enjoy playing with, playing when I’m working as Nicole because I don’t always feel it in my own life, and it’s nice to be able to live in that energy when it’s not yourself, and uh, I’m really glad that people pick up on that too, because confidence is so important.

 

DELAYNE : And I think fanfic writers enjoy writing Nicole’s swagger, as well. It’s a lot of fun.

 

KAT : [laughter] Oh yeah.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Uh, do you look forward to a point in time where you might be able to go back and read some of the more popular fanfiction fanworks, specifc...especially the ones that take place in alternate universes to the world of Purgatory that Emily has created?

 

KAT : Oh, um, yeah, I mean, absolutely. I think whenever, like, when, years down the road when we’re not working on the show anymore and it’s been, I think there’d be a time of mourning where I’d have to let it go a little bit, and it would definitely feel like an absence for sure. Um, but I think after that’s over, yeah, of course I would. I would love to read what people had come up with and almost like it would be like going back and visiting an old friend, but in a different way that, um, I didn’t know her before. Absolutely, of course. I would love that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, hopefully that time is years and years from now.

 

KAT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : After you’ve wrapped  _ Wynonna Earp _ season twelve…

 

KAT : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and you’ve got two movies under your belts.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, Kat, thank you so much for coming on and chatting with us.

 

KAT : Mmm. You’re welcome.

 

DARKWICCAN : This has been an absolute delight, and you were so giving and wonderful and generous with your time, and I cannot tell you what that means to us as fans that you are so gracious and welcoming. It’s just been um, such a wonderful gift for us.

 

KAT : Aww. Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, thank you. Thank you.

 

KAT : Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Before we let you go. [laughter]

 

KAT : Mhmm. Uh oh.

 

DARKWICCAN : What we normally do when we are interviewing fic authors, is we ask them to give us their quote desert island fic. What is the one fic that if they were stranded on a desert island, they would wanna have to read.

 

KAT : Oh, god.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, we can’t ask you that because you can’t read fic currently. I also don’t wanna ask you what your desert island book would be, and that’s because you kind of answered that question a little bit with Kevin and Bonnie recently.

 

KAT : I did, yeah, yeah, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And so, instead, this is the only real hot seat question that we have. [laughter]

 

KAT : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m gonna ask, would you be so kind as to provide a Nicole or WayHaught centric prompt for any authors that may be listening.

 

KAT : Ooh.

 

DELAYNE : Something you can read thirteen, fourteen years in the future. [laughter]

 

KAT : Ok, ok.

 

DELAYNE : Something you really wanna see.

 

KAT : I would love to read, fourteen years in the future, I have a Twitter banner up right now and it’s like an  _ Indiana Jones _ / Lara Croft...

 

DELAYNE : Oh, The Jungle.

 

KAT : Type.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, the one by...

 

KAT : Yes, I want it to be like a  _ Tomb Raider _ esque adventure WayHaught story.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s fantastic. Yeah.

 

KAT : Yep. Like  _ Indiana Jones _ , like the rolling ball through the tunnel, and like the snakes and the hunt for gold and like some sort of crazy tribe. I wanna see all that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KAT : Preferably with like a slight  _ Pirates of the Caribbean  _ bad guy element.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ooh, nice. Nice little twist there.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, authors listening, you have your marching orders. Uh, so, you know we want, Kat would like a  _ Tomb Raider _ esque,  _ Pirates of the Caribbean _ mashup AU featuring everyone’s favorite  _ Wynonna Earp _ characters.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, that is wonderful and I’m sure they’re all already leaping to their notepads right now.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

KAT : Amazing. Oh, ok, and here’s a twist. Nicole and Wynonna need to find some sort of like old pirate treasure chest with like rum in it and there has to be like a drunk!Haught element.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes! Fantastic. You just lasered right into the minds of fans, Kat. I don’t know how you do it.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, that is amazing.

 

KAT : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You just laser right in. You do.

 

KAT : [laughter] It’s one of my favorite things to do too, so it’s like I selfishly also love that aspect.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, that is wonderful and I am very excited to see what is gonna come from that prompt. So, but thank you again, Kat, so much, we won’t keep you any longer. It has been fabulous chatting with you and I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day.

 

KAT : Thank you guys, I really appreciate it. This was fun.

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s all for this very special episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks so much for spending your holiday with us. Our immense thanks and gratitude to the phenomenal Kat Barrell for joining us to chat. Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson, Two Worlds by Maru Tarang, Walkie Talkie by Richard Maltby, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Kat's extra-special prompt:**  A Tomb Raider + Raiders of the Lost Ark mash-up WayHaught AU that includes Wynonna and Nicole finding a treasure chest of rum (aka, an appearance from Drunk!Haught)

The artwork this prompt is inspired from is this work by [Olivia Joy Taylor :](https://t.co/2OjtDEKZOG)

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast
> 
> We're also on iTunes!


	10. Kids These Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week on the show DW and Delayne drop a couple tabs, and stare at a Grateful Dead poster under a black light as they discuss the surprising 'selling acid was a bad idea' by brogurt and then chat with the elusive author herself!

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/kids-these-days)

 

Read the fic!

[selling acid was a bad idea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11394618) by brogurt

 

Episode artwork by: [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

  

Brogurt's Desert Island Fic: [let me down slow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7353178) by isawet

 

Also, please check out Brogurt's incredible Trans!Waverly story: [we lost her](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7486665)

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by ApproxTenCats!

 

Ep 210: Kids These Days

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN:  Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everybody to another episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am your host Dark Wiccan, and with me, still hungover from the holiday is my lovely co-host…

DELAYNE: [Weak croaky laughter] Hi, it’s Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: See you can hear it in her voice.  She was ringing in the holiday cheer and I mean why not, because our last episode...

DELAYNE: Was amazing!

DARKWICCAN:  We were talking [voice gets squeaky with excitement] to Kat Barrell! That is something to celebrate.

DELAYNE: Still not over that.

DARKWICCAN:  I know. That was so, so neat.  I… I… oh man, I am still on a cloud.  Still on a cloud.

DELAYNE: [Laughter] Well thank you DW for making that happen, because I never thought I would ever talk to Kat Barrell, you know, because I’m poor and don’t get a chance to do Con stuff a lot.  Maybe a little more so now in the upcoming year but um, yeah. That was amazing.

DARKWICCAN: It was amazing, and you know, don’t thank me, thank Kat, honestly.  Because she was the one who said yes and worked with us to come on the show and chat with us about something that she technically can’t even read. 

[General laughter]

DELAYNE: Right!

DARKWICCAN: So that was just… it was wonderfully… I know I said a bunch in last week’s episode, I kept telling her how generous she was, but really she is!  She was very, very generous with us.

DELAYNE: So thank you DW.  And thank you Kat Barrell.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, I’m sure she’s listening. [Laughter]

DELAYNE: Right? 

DARKWICCAN: So, I must ask, did you have a pleasant holiday?

DELAYNE: I got to see my wife and my family and my dogs so yes.

DARKWICCAN:  That’s awesome, we should say you will have gotten to...

DELAYNE: I will have gotten to...

DARKWICCAN:  ...see your wife and your family and your dogs because technically of course folks we are recording weeks in advance.  So I still have time to order Christmas gifts, put up a tree, I haven’t done any of that stuff yet. Put up a tree, get the outside lights set up… [Laughter]

DELAYNE: I’m so glad my wife does that stuff for me.  My family has no idea, they’re like “thank you”, I’m like “uh huh, yeah, thank you, talk to my wife.”

DARKWICCAN: But yeah, I think that I will have had a pretty nice holiday as well.  I’m very happy and full to the brim with good tidings of comfort and joy and I am excited to ring in this new year because I think, 2019, it’s gonna be lit!

DELAYNE: [Laughter] Sure, why not.

DARKWICCAN: Sure, why not. Okay.  But what brings us together today is hooliganism.

DELAYNE: Hooliganism?

DARKWICCAN: Hooliganism.

DELAYNE: That’s hard to say.

DARKWICCAN: It is hard to say, it’s fun to say though.  Specifically one hooligan in particular.

DELAYNE: You’re really gonna play this up now aren’t you?

DARKWICCAN:  Say again? 

DELAYNE: I said, “you’re really going to play this up now aren’t you?”

DARKWICCAN:  I am, because I’m having too much fun saying the word “hooligan”.  Hey, everybody take a shot of eggnog every time I say “hooligan”.

DELAYNE: We don’t want to kill people now.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, alright, I’ll dial it back, I’ll dial it back.  Riff raff.

DELAYNE: Seriously?

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

DELAYNE: And see the word used in the fic is “fuck-up” and so I guess hooligan is probably better.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, yeah.

DELAYNE: Keep our ratings lower.

DARKWICCAN: So the riff-raff, the hooligan, that we’re referring to in this instance is the character of teenage Nicole Haught, in the most excellent fic,  _ Selling Acid Was A Bad Idea _ by Brogurt.

DELAYNE: Hey, did you know that this has been a desert island fic pick?

DARKWICCAN:  Yes. Multiple times.  Right? More than once.

DELAYNE: I actually looked, I swore it was more than once and I only found it once so I don’t know what happened.

DARKWICCAN:  No, it’s more than once because only a few episodes ago we had an author say it was their desert island fic.

DELAYNE: Those aren’t posted yet.  For me.

DARKWICCAN: They’re not posted yet.  And the irony is I can’t remember which author it was, because we’re about four weeks ahead and I know that it’s one of those four.

DELAYNE: Okay.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.  I want to say it was onlywordsnow.  But it may not have been.

DELAYNE: So you’ll just cut that part out conveniently if it’s not true.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, I’ll just snippity-snip-snip around it, no problemo.

DELAYNE: Brogurt was chosen, one of their other fics was chosen in the first season, as well.  So Brogurt was chosen twice, this fic once, in season one.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, yes, and it was actually because of that initial desert island fic pick that I sat down to read it because by the time I got down to reading fics to the level and rapidity that I’m reading now in order to produce this show,  _ Selling Acid _ was already many thousands of words in and I’ll be honest, the title turned me off.

DELAYNE: Same.  Same. I held off on this one until it became recommended by others.

DARKWICCAN:  Exactly, and I’m so glad that I did go back and read it because I realised I’d made a huge mistake by judging a fic by its title and it is so, so good.  I mean obviously we wouldn’t be talking about it on the show if it wasn’t but it is leaps and bounds beyond my wildest expectations of what I thought it was going to be when I sat down to read it.

DELAYNE: Especially a fic that’s about a hooligan Nicole Haught selling drugs, like what?

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, and honestly, the title, the premise, it threw me off.  Because this was before season three Nicole letting it slip that she used to smoke cigarettes behind the church and so had a little bit of a bad girl streak when she was younger.  So I didn’t have that notion in my head.

DELAYNE: Right?  Good girl Nicole Haught would never do such a thing.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, it just seemed out of character and I wasn’t really buying the premise.  But again based on that desert island fic pick in season one I sat down and I read it and I was, “ooh, I get it now.  Brogurt is a brilliant author.”

DELAYNE: Yes, and this fic is very very funny.  There’s some great hilarious moments. There’s some other stuff that we’ll talk about in a minute but um, yeah, it’s… it’s a hmm, brain, um...  when a fic is good I just turn into a mumbling idiot so we’ll just edit that out.

DARKWICCAN: Well, something that we were talking about before we were recording that you said you enjoyed was Waverly going around smacking everybody.

DELAYNE: [Laughter] Right, so yeah, Nicole says some smart-ass thing and she ends up with food dumped on her or just being smacked in general and I… it made me think back to when I was in high school, I was a total Waverly.  People said smartass things I would just reach over and smack ‘em. There was this kid, I used to take his hat off his head and hit him with it.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, so you were violent, alright.  So this Waverly...

DELAYNE: So that’s a thing y’all know about me now.

DARKWICCAN: So, so this Waverly she does kinda… that is kind of her go to thing isn’t it?  If someone says something smartass or stupid she just kind of smacks them and that is one thing I was like, “Oh come on, calm down.”  Because my thinking is if that’s your reaction your not quick enough to come up with a verbal retort.

DELAYNE: Uh, that is correct.

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] So you resort to violence.

DELAYNE: I can say for a fact that is very, very true.

DARKWICCAN:  So if you haven’t guessed, and I did mention this earlier, this is a high school AU and, I didn’t mention it was a high school AU but I did mention that Nicole was a high school student, and so this takes place their senior year of high school and Nicole, it starts out with Nicole in a jail cell because she’s been picked up for… can anybody guess?  I know the title is subtle. 

DELAYNE: Um, was she perhaps… selling acid? 

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, which was a bad idea.  Because she attempted to sell to a cop and of course was immediately arrested.  And so at the top of the story we find Nicole where she finds herself which is in a jail cell.  And that’s actually our first encounter with Waverly as well, because Waverly shows up to pick up Wynonna in an adjacent cell.

DELAYNE: Who is drunkenly singing.

DARKWICCAN: Who is drunkenly singing and apparently she’s a horrible singer, but we get to know… everything from the most part is from Nicole’s point of view.

DELAYNE: Yep.

DARKWICCAN: So we get to know Waverly and Wynonna and Nedley and Champ and everyone really from Nicole’s point of view.  That is important to remember because Nicole has some opinions about herself and about how others see her and that colors the way that she views everything.

DELAYNE: And that view, because it’s mentioned in this fic that  before she became a hooligan she was a superstar athlete.

DARKWICCAN: [Agreeing noise] Another one where we have a family relocating to Purgatory from elsewhere.  They relocated and she had bought accolades to the Purgatory High basketball team playing point for them because she was a star athlete and she helped bring, uh,  I can’t remember if it was a championship, but it was at least a title...

DELAYNE: Yeah, it was a basketball championship.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, to the Purgatory High Blue Devils, and that was the first time in years right?  So she’s kind of riding high on this and then of course the worst thing that can happen to an athlete happens.  She tears her ACL.

DELAYNE: Uh yeah, and once you’re injured all the accolades and potential scholarships tend to dry up.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm.  And Nicole had only really seen herself as a basketball player.  And she saw herself as the best basketball player and this kind of informed her life outside of the game.  She would also, in order to stay on the team, she maintained a very high GPA and was doing very well in her classes and was popular and fun to be around, go to parties, and she wasn’t out, but she wasn’t in the closet either,  she wasn’t trying to disguise that part of herself because she was cushioned by being a star athlete, bringing a championship home, doing well in class being, you know, fun to be around.

DELAYNE: And I can confirm from my wife that being a star athlete does provide that cushion in a small town.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, absolutely.  And when your life revolves around this one tentpole and that tentpole literally and figuratively crumbles you suddenly are lost and you don’t know who you are anymore, especially when you’re that young.  Now technically Nicole and Waverly are both eighteen in this story so they’re technically adults, legal adults, but they’re still in high school which is not uncommon. And that also adds an element of, kind of seriousness to the fact that Nicole has gotten herself into this very dangerous lifestyle of dealing.

DELAYNE: Yeah, because that’s not a charge as a minor, that’s being charged as an adult and depending on where you’re at that’s a major charge.  That’s not like a little bit of weed that’s frickin’ LSD.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, yeah exactly, so she is really playing a very dangerous game and as we know from the top of the story she’s already gotten caught.  Now luckily for her she has adults in her corner, or I should say older adults, mature adults in her corner, who are trying their best to watch out for her.  And that includes Nedley, of course...

DELAYNE: [Inaudible] love Nedley.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.  And he is doing what he can to try to keep Nicole from permanently ruining her life, like truly, truly denying herself any kind of future as she goes forward in life.  So, you know this is a heavy fic, it has elements of comedy which we need, we need that pressure release but really it’s a heavy fic.

DELAYNE: Very very heavy.  I had totally forgot how heavy this was.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, me too, me too.

DELAYNE:  The start of that first scene like, “ha ha, this is the back and forth between Nicole and Waverly” and then, “oh wait, the whole backstory and why, ugh, oh my  gosh.”

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, once we get further into the story more and more about the history of not only Nicole’s injury, but other incidents that occurred within the last year of her life, and also Waverly’s life, come to the forefront, you know.  We start to get a picture, a clearer picture, of just how bad things got and were and then continued to progressively get over the course of the year from the time Nicole injured herself to the point where we start off the story and ultimately to the point where we finish the story.  And, you know, we don’t want to give away too much, because really, it’s so much. The writing is so excellent it really feels a shame to give away some of these major story elements, but we can say that Champ is an asshole who deserves only bad things in life. And he really deserves more than what he ultimately gets, and Nicole is, and of course we all know this, but Nicole is a good person.  She is a good person who made bad choices.

DELAYNE: And that happens, especially when your self-esteem has taken a big hit.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm, something that has really stuck out to me, and I remember I mentioned earlier that Nicole’s perceptions are driving the story, something that really stuck out to me is when we’re in the penultimate chapter, not the one prior to the epilogue but chapter nine, where everything is sort of coming to a head and explanations are coming out and circumstances are being revealed and all this other stuff, at one point Nedley says to Nicole, “why didn’t you come to me with this?” and she loses her mind.  And it’s one of those things where, yes, absolutely I can see where Nicole is coming from, absolutely, however Nedley’s not wrong. It’s so interesting reading stories that are written from a teenagers perspective when you’re an adult, like in early middle age and you’re going, “oh my gosh, yeah you had a shitty year but how many of the choices that happened in this year were you in control of? Not talking about the stuff you weren’t. That you definitely weren’t. Weren’t in control of the knee, weren’t in control of an incident that happened at the Home Depot, weren’t in control of those things.  But the choices that you made when you were in the driver’s seat of your life and could control the outcome? Why? Didn’t? You?... Go to your parents. Go to Nedley. Go to somebody, anybody, who was in a position to truly be able to help you? I don’t [frustrated noise]. Now as a teenager, totally on board with what Nicole’s saying.

DELAYNE: I was just about to say, “wait a minute, do you not remember being a teenager at all?”

DARKWICCAN: Of course I remember being a teenager, of course, I did stupid stuff.  

DELAYNE: I still continue to do stupid things.

DARKWICCAN: But she was working so hard to do that thing that teenagers do, which is deflect blame away from herself.  “Why should I have to come to you when it was so clearly obvious how much trouble I was in and you decided just not to come to me?” No no no, that’s… because I guarantee you if adults had tried to go to her she would have pushed them away.  

DELAYNE: That sounds very analogous to my coming out story. [General laughter] “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”  “If I woulda tried you would denied it, so whatever.”

DARKWICCAN:  So this, I say all of that to say this, Brogurt is a genius.

DELAYNE: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: Because they so perfectly captured that mindstate, that mindstate that makes  total sense when you’re living it as a teen. But as an adult looking at it from the outside you wanna… that’s when the smacking should really come into play.

DELAYNE: Like when Waverly smacks Nicole for a smartass remark.

DARKWICCAN: I’m not advocating violence against teenagers. I’m just saying figuratively, that’s when you want to smack someone upside the head, as an adult looking at how this person is behaving.

DELAYNE: But yes, Brogurt is a genius and one of my favorite scenes, I’m going to go a little earlier back into this fic...

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, lighten the mood a little bit Delayne, lighten the mood.

DELAYNE: So as we make clear, Waverly’s with Champ and this is of course very problematic in almost any fic that we see but my favorite is the Champ equals gum analogy and I lost it when Waverly starts going and Nicole goes, “is this going to be really convoluted?”

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] Yeah.

DELAYNE: And then later when she finally breaks up with him, Nicole walks out and says, “I see you got rid of your gum.”

DARKWICCAN:  “I see you finally spit out your gum.”  Yeah, that was great. 

DELAYNE: Yeah, so there’s gotta be humor in a heavy fic and I was dying laughing quite a few times.

DARKWICCAN:  Well also Brogurt’s turn of phrase is fantastic.  Like one of my favorite ones is “Nicole couldn’t stop the smile that hit her face like a baseball bat.”  It’s so descriptive!

DELAYNE: I actually, I didn’t write that one down but I did notice that one.  There was a couple of others, it’s really good you guys.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, if you haven’t guessed, by the way that we’re gushing, it is really a so good, again for me it was such a delightful surprise, such a delightful surprise.  I was not expecting it to be this excellent of a story and...

DELAYNE: Based on the title.

DARKWICCAN: Based on the title, yeah.  And the description, based on the title and the description I was like, “hmmm, this doesn’t seem like my cup of tea.”  But boy am I glad to have been wrong, I’m so glad to have been wrong. Because I then went back and read other pieces by Brogurt and was just continually blown away by the quality of the writing, and the creativity, and their point of view writing is just so clear.  It’s so obvious when they’re writing from a Nicole POV or a Waverly POV they understand the characters. They understand them to a core minutia level of understanding and it’s just delightful.

DELAYNE: So, um, another thing that I like about this story is the set up of the story itself.  Because we start out with the scene in the jail and then we learn the back story through these little flashbacks and it’s not all at once either, it’s spread out through the story, you get more and more bits as we go along and I just really like the way  it was done because it’s not overwhelming? That’s not the right word. I don’t know what I’m trying to say but I just...

DARKWICCAN: Brogurt is really excellent at providing backstory exposition in a way that isn’t just a big giant chunk of exposition upfront, that they allow these touchstone moments to filter in and come back and as a result continue to fill out the present tense of the story as you get these little glimpses of what happened in the past. So it provides a much more full and vibrant picture of what you’re looking at and it gives you a greater depth of meaning once you relate this new knowledge you have about this past event to the current thing that’s happening on the page.

DELAYNE: Um, yes. Very well said.  Much better than my… uh, yeah that’s exactly what I was trying to say.  Thank you for...

DARKWICCAN: You’re welcome, here to help.  But no you’re right, you’re right, the way Brogurt sets up the story is really beautiful because we set it up with this reveal of Nicole in the jail cell having got caught selling acid.  And then we find out from Nicole herself the full story of that event that landed her in that cell in the epilogue so it’s a beautiful bookend.

DELAYNE: Yes, another great bookend, when Waverly said, “admit it, selling acid was a bad idea.”

DARKWICCAN:  Well, she doesn’t say that exactly.  It’s a paraphrase.

DELAYNE: Oh, sonovabitch.  [Laughter] But yes, Waverly points it out.

DARKWICCAN:  It’s close enough to be a reclamation of the title.

DELAYNE: Brings the title back around in a way, and I love it.

DARKWICCAN: So we’ve been sitting here gushing about Brogurt and their genius for writing and this fic for about half an hour, I think it’s time that we sat down with the author themself and really picked their brain on how they came up with this brilliant, brilliant story idea.

DELAYNE: That sounds like a fantastic idea.

DARKWICCAN: Fantastic, let’s do that.  But before we do, one more time in the year 2018, before the clock ticks over and it’s next year, we must introduce this week’s [CONTENT CENSORED - PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

DARKWICCAN: Hey everybody and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am still your host DarkWiccan and somehow between the break and now the delightful Delayne has given me her cold. Thank you Delayne.

DELAYNE: [Laughter] You’re welcome.

DARKWICCAN: And now I can only hope that I do not pass it along to our wonderful guest who is joining us.  She is the author of the fantastic work  _ Selling Acid Was a Bad Idea  _ that we were chatting about before the [break] today.  Brogurt, who has asked us to refer to her as Em for today’s episode.  Em, welcome to the show.

BROGURT: Hi, thanks for having me.

 

DARKWICCAN: Thanks for coming on, I really hope that this isn’t contagious across microphones.  

DELAYNE: Across the airwaves.

BROGURT: It’s that time of year.

DARKWICCAN:  It is that time of year.  I tell you what, it is wonderful having you on the show, something that Delayne and I were talking about in the previous segment was how we both had sort of passed over the fic for no other reason than the title and once we actually… this particular story has been chosen as a desert island fic, twice, once last  season and once this season, and so when it was recommended last season I was like, “okay, well now I gotta read it.” And boy am I glad that I did because it is a fantastic work of fiction.

BROGURT: Thank you.

DELAYNE: It’s amazing.

DARKWICCAN: You’re very welcome.  

BROGURT: Once again, thank you for reading it.  And really it’s so wonderful to hear feedback and response anytime, so feel no worries, no bad.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, I shan’t, I shan’t.  But you are a fairly prolific author, you’ve written six works for Wynonna Earp so far.  Are there any other fandoms that you have stretched your legs out in or is Wynonna Earp your first fic world?

BROGURT: Um, no I have… I’ve been writing fic for a while, not just on Archive of our Own but also on Fanfiction.net back in those days.  I wrote for Glee, I was a Clane writer, I don’t know if you guys ever watched Glee. I wrote some for Gravity Falls, I wrote some for Castle, I always feel like whenever I really get involved in a show or a community or like the Tumblr fandom I have to at least write a little bit, and Wynonna Earp was definitely one of those for me, where I just got completely sucked in to the world and the fandom and especially the writing community here which is such a strong talented group of people.

DELAYNE: Uh, yes.

DARKWICCAN: Obviously we strongly agree.

BROGURT: Yeah, right.  Yeah. No, no, I mean this fandom, this fanfic community has definitely been  the one I’ve stretched my legs out the most, I’ve felt the most excitement and just making friends, talking to people and just that fun stuff.

DARKWICCAN: So let’s talk a little bit about the fic we’re here to chat about which is  _ Selling Acid Was a Bad Idea _ which was a delightful, and deep, high school AU.

DELAYNE: Uh yeah, cause I wanna know why did you want to write, as you described Nicole, as a fuck-up?

BROGURT: Yeah, I guess the thing that’s always been of interest for me when I’ve written fic in fan communities is to kind of look at the show and see what they’re doing and just kind of run in the opposite direction.  Because I love, you know, I have what is up on the screen, and I have on my computer fic writers writing what’s in the world of the universe, in the characterisation of the universe very strictly, and I like to say, “okay but what if, what if this bright squeaky clean character that we love for being so, like, positive or, you know, as I thought when I started writing, this purely positive and loving character, what if she’s really deeply upset.”  What happens if she’s kind of pushed to a place where she can’t cope, she can’t deal with everything that’s happening to her, and she is kind of forced to deal with it in really unhealthy ways. I’m always just kind of interested in characters coping badly because I feel like I’ve had a lot of those episodes that Nicole kind of has in the story, those moments of badly dealing with your circumstances. So I kind of liked to… I was just so excited about inverting her.  And maybe turning her inside out a little, turning her relationships with Nedley, with Waverly, with Wynonna inside out and seeing if I could still take this person on the show, who I adored, who I was a little bit in love with. And see if I could make her a little… just something… a little darker and scarier and a maybe little relatable for me.

DELAYNE: So, were you surprised then when we found out in season three that Nicole kind of did have a bit of a rebellious side?

BROGURT: Um, I wouldn’t say I was surprised because I think that other writers tend to have the same tendency towards their own work and I thought that at one point the writers room and the people who work on the show would want to see this darker side of Nicole, this more uh, like you said, more rebellious, a little less you know, squeaky clean.  And I was delighted to see it, and it really excited me. It’s always cool to see people not be what they seemed to be at first in stories. So whichever way you’re going to take it, I thought it was just awesome to see that happen.

DELAYNE: So, um, you got Nicole’s back story, I was wondering how much of that was fleshed out, all of those little details, how much of that was in your mind when you wrote that first chapter?

BROGURT: Truthfully, like basically none of it.  I am downright horrendous at long term plotting. Truly it is one of my greatest struggles as a writer, I am just so bad at thinking ahead.  And I just like ideas so I just throw them together, so the main story I was thinking, I mean I truly wrote this and I was thinking it would maybe have two chapters.  I wrote it basically with the one image of Nicole in jail and Waverly coming in and being like, “wow, look at you you, idiot, look at what you’ve got yourself into.” And anything beyond that was kind of crafted basically around the fourth-ish chapter.  So as people were really responding to the work and people were really excited about this I was suddenly like, “oh crap, people are gonna want a satisfying ending, I can’t just run this along, and see how it goes.” You know people are going to want to have things make sense, and sometimes I struggle with that as a writer.  So I did a little backtracking, I did a little editing around the third chapter, the fourth chapter, and that’s when I came up with the grander plot of Nicole and Champ’s history, Champ and Waverly’s history, and the plan going forward of the party and Champ basically flipping the scenario and acting like Nicole was the aggressor.  That kind of all came up around then, I was like, “oh, this is what I want the story to be about.” But I never never even thought that it would go so long.

DELAYNE: Or that deep?

BROGURT: Or so deep. Or so complicated with the elements when I wrote that first chapter.  Truly I’m the kind of writer I just sort of like an idea or an image of people in a place, I just sort of love the idea of Nicole in jail, I was like BOOM that’s enough for me, I’ll just write a whole fic about that.  And initially I was going to have the whole thing take place in one night, but Waverly, you know, she wanted to get out of there, she was not having it. So I was like, “I’m going to have to take a little longer with these two if I want them to kiss and stuff, so I’ll have to work on that, take a little more time.”  Which ended up being a definitely net positive.

DARKWICCAN: Absolutely, I completely agree there, I’m so glad that your muse would not let you drop this and your characters were demanding to be fleshed out.  That’s always such a treat, it’s kind of one of those things when you’re a writer you’re like, “I’m trying to get to the end of this” and your character is like, “nope, nope, nope, we’ve got more to do. Sorry, deal with it.”  So you say that you were in your senior year of high school when Wynonna Earp first started airing and, then you started writing this story a year or two later? A year and a half?

BROGURT: Yeah, I wrote my first Wynonna Earp fic that summer, right after season one ended, I wrote my first couple… I was actually taking a gap year then so it was great, I had a ton of time to write, it was great.   It was my most productive year in terms of writing fic and other stuff ever. So but I didn’t end up writing “Selling Acid” until right around the start of season two when the show was kicked up again by the season two premiere and that’s when I kind of… because I was still reading so much Wynonna Earp fanfiction but I was not writing at all.  Because I get really embarrassed when I leave fics to die and I don’t finish them, and I had this unfinished fic that people were like really… not mad, or as mad as commenters get, you know people were kind of sad I wasn’t continuing and I felt so bad but then I just, I had to write this, and I got so excited about this and I had to finish it or keep writing it 

DARKWICCAN: So would you say that because you’re a young age, that really helped to really effectively tap into the psyche of a teenager in crisis?

BROGURT: Well, yeah.  It’s a good question, and also one that I guess I feel almost nervous about answering because you know, I’m twenty, so I’m not one of those hip teens anymore but I do very much do relate to the phrasing “teenager in crisis”.  And I think more even so than age, I just felt I really related to the kind of crisis Nicole was going through. I mean, I never sold drugs in high school, but I was someone who, because I was coming out as transgender and I was really struggling with my personal identity, I really did not know how to cope well. I did not know how to deal well with how I was feeling. I made a lot of the wrong choices like in terms of relating and  I kind of felt like oh, when I started writing this, and I was on the mend, getting better therapy, I was like, “oh this is actually a good place to put some of that”. It’s funny because I almost always am like a Waverly stan through and through, like Waverly’s my favorite, she’s my girl, I’m a middle child, or like I’m the youngest child. I love Waverly as this figure but I found myself so relating to Nicole and to, to her struggle and her quest for moral absolution in the face of these mistakes that she’s made and the struggled with.  So I think a lot of her crisis moments came from stuff I remember doing, or I had friends do when they were struggling. So it’s very much almost a personal fic which I don’t always go into but I have twice now with Wynonna Earp because I also wrote a fic about Waverly being trans, but I really do relate to those coping mechanisms. Those bad coping mechanisms.

DARKWICCAN: Well, just to go off on a sidetrack, to go off on a sidetrack briefly, um, your trans-Waverly fic is absolutely beautiful and I so wish I had read it before we recorded our transformative works episode last season because I definitely would have included it in the line-up, probably in place of another fic, quite honestly.  When I read it I was like, “this is beautiful work, it’s so perfect!” So that’s just a fantastic, fantastic piece

BROGURT: Thank you, thank you

DELAYNE: Thank you for telling your story.

DARKWICCAN:  And for anyone not familiar with that work it is called  _ Lost Girl _ and we’ll provide a link to it in our show notes as well.

BROGURT: Yeah, that was my first one, that I wrote for Wynonna Earp, because once again I related too much to Waverly and was like, “uh oh, I have to write a trans-fic.”  And everytime I relate too much to a character I have to write a trans-fic about them because it’s just, you know, I love seeing these characters as more aligned with my gender experience because they’re already aligned with my, like you know, experience of being gay and my experience of that kind of world, and how it relates to gender.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, absolutely, and representation is important, it’s something that we say constantly and repetitively and seeing ourselves  reflected in media validates us and lets us know that who we are is okay and not unusual and not outside of society and whatever. And for the LGBT community for the longest time the only place we could see ourselves was in the works we created for ourselves in fanfiction which is why I think fanfiction is such a huge deal in the LGBT fan community.

BROGURT: Yeah, really, I totally agree.

DELAYNE: Uh, I love it when we get deep and then I have a question that just sort of brings us back.  This happens a lot doesn’t it? Um, yeah, so what was it that made Waverly just kind of spontaneously decide to tutor Nicole? 

BROGURT: I think Waverly is, as she says in the show, a planner and I think in that moment Waverly is just grasping at straws to keep this connection going, this thing of interest to her.  She gets kind of curious about, that Nicole… you know she had kind of an image of Nicole in this story. She had an image of her as this jock, a friend of Champ’s that she sort of knew, that she was kind of nice to, and who just kind of disappeared from the social world after an injury . So she had this idea of Nicole and then all of a sudden, like what I said before with the acid, it kind of turned it on it’s head, that’s she kind of like, “oh, there’s something more to this person, she seems to be struggling in a way that I didn’t really know about.”  And also I think with Waverly, it’s almost kind of like, you know I had to re-read this fic to prepare, my own fic to prepare for this, but at the end of the story Nicole kind of calls her out, that she was being a bit of an emotional tourist, that she saw this deepness and this sorrow in Nicole and got so invested in it that she kind of had to reach for something and that’s what Waverly does well. She’s smart and she’s a good student and that was kind of her way in, because Nicole is so not that in this story, she’s kind of just “oh well this is, this is believable.” And then when it does get called out it kind of lays bare her ambition of really just wanting to get to know Nicole better, even if Nicole can’t really see that. 

DARKWICCAN: So, why was Nicole so determined to suffer in silence?

BROGURT: Um, so I think once again, not to make it all about me, but I honestly remember and relate to wanting to suffer in silence.  I think a lot of times when you are young, a teenager, and especially in high school. High school kind of feels like forever, you know, it feels like the only thing that’s ever going to happen to you.  This was my experience at least. It’s like, “oh, this is the rest of my life, these people that I don’t like, this place that I don’t like to be in, I suck at whatever I thought I was good at, I suck at basketball or I suck at grades.”  And you kind of just don’t want to deal with it anymore so you kind of just retreat into yourself. And with Nicole her whole deal of selling acid is really a means to an end of her being able to have some autonomy over her life, like she’s making money, she figures she can have enough money to move out and live on her own because she doesn’t think she’s going to go to college. So she doesn’t want to have to deal with her parents, she doesn’t want to have to deal with Nedley and the police, all she wants to do is make enough money to get out.  So her silence is kind of this self-motivated, “I don’t need anyone else, my lot sucks now because I had this thing I was good at and now I can’t ever do it again” yeah, and that does...

DARKWICCAN: [Starts to speak]

BROGURT: Go on, please.

DARKWICCAN: Well, she does have that sort of meltdown in the conference room at the sheriff’s station in, I want to say chapter nine?  Chapter nine, I think. Where Nedley’s like, “you should have come to me, you could have come to me and I would have helped,” she was like, “well, you didn’t… wait… i was supposed to come to you?  I wasn’t obviously screwed up enough that you guys couldn’t come to me?” And I mean that’s a horrible paraphrasing. My point is would she have even accepted help if an adult, if her parents, or Nedley had come to her and said, “hey, we noticed that this is all going on, we can help you, let us help.” Would she have even accepted the help or would she have just pushed it away?  Like, “No you don’t understand, man”

BROGURT: I think that, I mean honestly, like probably I think the whole extent of “let me reach out” is basically what happens with Waverly over the whole course of the fic.  It can happen, I think she eventually pierce Nicole, but it takes a while. And I think what Nicole is frustrated by is that people probably have reached out, her parents are like, “talk to us, talk to us,” but there’s not really a persistence or an understanding of the depth of pain.  Nedley is like, “ah Nicole you’re a fuck-up”, or her parents are like, “you’re really disappointing us. Talk to us, what’s going on?” But there isn’t a determined... like the way you have to talk to someone who is really traumatized and hurt and upset in a way that’s really deep like, “hey, no pressure, no need to talk, lets just sit down, you and I, and we’ll just sit here for a while and we’ll drink some tea and we’ll let you be and we’ll maybe keep a closer eye on you.  And then tomorrow we’ll see how you’re doing and maybe then you don’t have to go to school like let’s just take it easy, and once again we’ll just be here, be in your comfortable place until you’re ready to go there.” And I think Waverly’s persistence, and also at times her patience, even though plenty of times she pushes too hard and scares Nicole away is what ultimately cracks Nicole open and allows her to have the revelations and the changes that happen in the story. And I just don’t think Nedley and her parents and maybe some other people in the school were quite ready to handle.

DARKWICCAN: I mean, that does make sense.  It’s funny because in our previous segment I went off a little bit because as an adult looking back at being a teenager myself and also helping to raise a teenage godson, it really is, from the point of view of the adult, it’s very frustrating.  Because if the opportunity for communication exists, if all you have to say is “hey, help me” [laughter] and the adults are like “we’re here!” Because parent want to fix things, for the most part, not all the time, not every parent, but generally in a broad general sense parents want things to be okay for their kids and as a result they want to fix things, they want to fix the problem and  that doesn’t necessarily lead to the kind of communication you were talking about, let’s just sit here and be comfortable and go at your pace. I think parents and generally adults in a position of authority are more like, “okay, let’s come up with an action plan.”

DELAYNE: One step, do this right now.

DARKWICCAN:  And this is how we’re going to solve this problem.  So thinking about it the way you were kind of saying, it’s being like instead of being that aggressive proactive problem-solving thing, but instead being chill and relax and waiting for you to come to me but  I’m ready when you want to come to me but let’s just be calm and have some tea right now.

BROGURT: Yeah, and I wanted to not have Nicole’s parents be either abusive nor helpless in this story.  Even though they are, that they might feel like they’re letting Nicole down, that they are trying. And especially with Nicole’s dad I wanted to emphasize that he’s really trying, he’s trying to be helpful and he’s trying to understand where his daughter is at.  And even Nedley, even though he has to be a police officer at times, that he’s trying to understand her. It’s just more complicated than that, that even though there isn’t like a direct villain in that scenario there are moments when someone is hurting and is not going to want to talk to you, is going to be pissed off and punch a hole in the wall and I think that is frustrating and I empathize with that a lot, for someone who is raising a teenager or someone who was a teenager, it’s a hard situation, I think, regardless.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, absolutely, there are no easy answers, there are no easy outs.  Well, this has been so cool.

DELAYNE: This is, uh, this has been an amazing interview.  I’m… I… I’m so impressed I’m without words again.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.  This work is so profoundly good, more than once I’ve referred to you as a genius, Em.  I do hope that you continue to write for Wynonna Earp because I’m just so excited to see what you have for us, what else just sort of sparks inspiration in your mind that you can bring onto the page and bring us into another one of your wonderful scenarios.

BROGURT: Yeah, I would really love to get back into this fandom.  It has been a while for me now, it’s been almost a year since I’ve written, or I guess published anything on the fanfic site that I use.   But I do feel really strongly about these characters, I do have stuff that’s brewing. It’s truly just college and work and all the other things that get in the way when you want to do stuff.  But I hope to be back on the web at some point with y’all.

DARKWICCAN: And never any pressure from us, it’ll happen when it happens but we look forward to it if and when it does.  But before we let you go to get back to college and all that stuff, we have one final question that we must ask you.

BROGURT: Yes.

DELAYNE: Alright.  So you are stranded on a desert island and have only one fanfic to read.  What is it?

BROGURT: Alright.  I’m going to go with “Let Me Down Slow” by Isawet?

DARKWICCAN: Oh, I-Saw-E.T.

BROGURT: Yeah, that one.  This is a great fic, it’s also one of the first I read, definitely the first one I was super passionate about.  It’s a great AU, a really smart one, it takes it’s time, it’s like a one or two shot. It’s so delicious in detail and strangeness and weird observations about the characters that I just adore.  It’s like the greatest strange little AU about Waverly running a laundry shop.

DARKWICCAN: Yes!

BROGURT: In Purgatory.  It’s one that I feel like even when I’ve taken breaks from Wynonna Earp that I still come back to this fic and think about, “man, I love the writers here, and I love this story, and I could read it a billion times.”

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, “Let Me Down Slow” is one of my favorites as well, it is currently unfinished so that’s brave of you going to a desert island with an unfinished fic but it is really delightful.  I love the imagery that Isawet comes up with this story. One of my favorites is when Waverly and Nicole are in the window of the laundrette and they get caught, you know, having a moment together by a little old lady outside the window.

BROGURT: It’s so good, it’s so good.

DARKWICCAN:  It is so, so good.  Alright well thank you again Em for coming on and chatting with us, this has been so wonderful.

BROGURT: Thank you for having me again, it has been so nice to be on and talk with you guys.

  
And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.   
  
Tremendous thanks to Brogurt for coming on to talk with us about her fic!   
  
  
Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro   
  
Background music for the episode was:   
  
A Proper Story and In Case of Trouble by Darren Korb   
  
The Monster's Lair - Tower by Shinichi Sakamoto   
  
and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan   
  
  
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Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	11. Hurts So Good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DW and Delayne break out the tissues and remind themselves to take deep breaths as they discuss the super-angsty fic 'Dawn at the Homestead'. Then they invent a new game they call "Schrodinger's Interview" where they both do and do not interview the author at the same time!

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/hurts-so-good)

 

Read the Fic!

[Dawn at the Homestead](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15097949) by Seda

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

Seda's Desert Island Fic: [The Sum Total of Living](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13041252) by doctoruth

 

Transcript by MrsBlueBacon

 

EFA Episode 211- Hurts So Good

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy and welcome everybody to another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me, hastily compiling all of her gift receipts so she can return those things she didn’t want from the holiday, is my delightful cohost--

 

DELAYNE : [snicker] Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And happy new year.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, yeah. Wow. Like my concept of time. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, our concept of time is screwy anyway because for us recording right now, it’s still twenty-eighteen, and technically...

 

DELAYNE : Right, but the idea of it being twenty-nineteen.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Blows my damn mind.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, that’s fair. I know, it’s nuts. It’s absolutely nuts. I don’t know that I’m ready for twenty gayteen to be over.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I need just a couple more months, please.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Just one or two. [said over Delayne]

 

DELAYNE : There’s so much shit I didn’t get done. [said over DarkWiccan]

 

DARKWICCAN : Give me an extra, give me an extra fourteen days at least. Uh, but yeah, we should have actually said happy new year last week, when our episode aired because it was already into twenty nineteen, so we’re still a little late, we’re still a little late. But happy new year everybody. I hope that so far it’s shaping up to be an enjoyable one, and that we haven’t, um, experienced thermonuclear war [laughter] by the time this posts.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Way to be positive.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, ya know [laughter] I’m trying to like, um, dig into the kind of dark recesses because this week we’re talking about a very angsty fic.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. [laughter] Valid point. Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Yeah yeah. I mean, it’s an angsty fic with a happy ending, but woof. What a ride to get there.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my gosh. I [laughter], this one hurts.

 

DARKWICCAN : It hurts so good.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It does.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s one of those stories where as you’re reading it, you feel your chest constricting ever so slightly each chapter. And your throat gets a little tighter and you’re just like “oh god this is so painful, but I can’t stop reading it because it’s so well written.”

 

DELAYNE : Exactly. When it’s that well written you have to keep reading. Not only ‘cause you need things to get better, but because it pulls you in that much.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely it pulls you in and you’re just strapped in and along for the ride and can only cross your fingers and hope that it’s gonna turn out ok in the end even though the author has promised you at the outset that it’s gonna be ok. You just keep waiting. You keep waiting.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter throughout DarkWiccan speaking] So, should we mention what one we’re talking about?

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, if we have to. I mean, should we subject our listeners to this pain?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Of course we should. Yes, of course we should.

 

DELAYNE : Ooh. Let’s torture you just a little bit more.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : As we were tortured. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Draw it out. So, this story is called “Dawn at the Homestead” it is by the author Sayda [ph][Seda is correct spelling], or possibly pronounced Seeda. We don’t know.

 

DELAYNE : I was wondering that myself, actually just before we started recording.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Like, I would say Seeda, but it’s probably Sayda.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s probably Sayda because I was thinking like Sega, ‘cause it’s S-E-D-A and Sega is S-E-G-A. So, the say [ph] sound before the consonant. I’m probably overthinking it, or maybe I’m underthinking it, I don’t know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Maybe it’s pronounced George. Maybe it’s just...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...completely other.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, yes, that’s a, my name’s George. That’s spelled S-E-D-A.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah. Hey, these days parents are coming up with some pretty creative spellings of names. So, ya know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] As a Delayne with a Y in the wrong spot. I, well, that’s my own spelling but whatever, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] But, ya know I don’t, I don’t. Ok, to go off on a slight tangent. I don’t buy into the whole notion of like ya know, “well, parents should have known when they named their child that, that they were going to catch heck.” It’s like, no, actually maybe we should try to be better people and learn how to pronounce someone’s name even if it has a strange pronunciation.

 

DELAYNE : Thank you. Thank you. [sing songy]

 

DARKWICCAN : Or a strange spelling. Just take that extra second and be like “oh and how do you pronounce that?” Ya know.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, I had some fun pronunciations in college. Like, I, that’s not French. Like, what? Where is that even coming from?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Where do you think I am from? [laughter] ‘Cause it sounds far more exotic and interesting than where I’m actually from.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Like, no, just Americanize that up a bit. You got it, there you go.

 

DARKWICCAN : Take everything interesting out of it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Oh.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Anyway, let’s get back to this fic. Let’s get back to this fic by the author...

 

DELAYNE : It’s like we don’t wanna talk about it ‘cause it’s so painful.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...I know, right?! By the author formerly known as George.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] We’re gonna get so much crap for this already.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Ok, so, no seriously, let’s talk about this fic. This is a fantastic masterwork of tension and release. It is, you are kept on a tight wire almost from the beginning and when you finally get that release in uh, around chapter thirteen or fourteen. I think it’s thirteen.

 

DELAYNE : Right. Out of fifteen.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is like. Not fifteen, it comes before the end.

 

DELAYNE : No, yeah I was saying thirteen or fourteen out of fifteen total. That’s how long you have to wait. [said over DarkWiccan]

 

DARKWICCAN : Out of fifteen, yeah. [said over Delayne] But in all fairness, the chapters aren’t heinously long chapters.

 

DELAYNE : That’s true.

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, the whole piece is only about thirty-one thousand words, so it’s not that, it’s not really that heavy of a read word count wise. 

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s really just the incredible work and sculpturing that this author, Seda, has done um, in laying out every scene, and uh, and how she really, and I did confirm pronouns [laughter].

 

DELAYNE : Thank you, I was just about to ask.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, but how she really does draw you in and hold you there and uses the canonical imagery from the show to really build that clearer picture and really catch you and keep you in that moment. Um.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, ‘cause this is a retelling of canon with some major key differences.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ooh boy. Yes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Major, major differences, and also, this was written prior to season three.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And there are some bullseyes that Seda hits as far as things that happen within canon that she could not have had any clue about.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Because this finished posting, I just, um, I think the last chapter had notes, and so the first episode had been seen, and even Seda was surprised at the happy scene of them watching, in the morning, and um, I think she said “this chapter has kind of a similar scene” and was completely blown away.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But let’s, ok, so let’s talk about the similarities. This is a largely canon, would you say, adjacent, canon...

 

DELAYNE : See, I use the word retelling and I think that’s the one I’m gonna stick with, ‘cause.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think that’s a good word. I think you’re absolutely right. Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. So, all the stuff about the Earp curse, that’s still in play. All the um, like, monsters of the week from seasons one and two are all in play. Um, so ya know, I mean it really is kind of taking almost, almost episode by episode. Not really, but almost, kind of key moments from each of the seasons, and playing those scenes out.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : But with the twist, and the twist is...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...Nicole is married. Now wait a minute, you’re gonna say. That’s not a twist because...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] We learned about that twist, what are you talking about?

 

DARKWICCAN : We know about that. Well, the twist is, she is married happily to someone not Shae. She is married to a woman by the name of Chris, and they have been together for a long time, it was not a Vegas wedding.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, they are very much each other’s support system and family. So, Nicole and Chris are a unit when they arrive in Purgatory.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] And that changes, majorly changes some iconic scenes.

 

DARKWICCAN : It changes everything.

 

DELAYNE : It really [laughter].

 

DARKWICCAN : And it raises the stakes immensely.

 

DELAYNE : Oh yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I love how the first time that Nicole meets Waverly, in the iconic bar tap incident scene.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That she is absentmindedly flirting with Waverly and stops herself, like “what am I doing? Why did I say that?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, ‘cause that first line, it wasn’t about wet t-shirt contests, ‘cause that would be, that would be much, just way too much for a first line, so it was like “oh I guess Nedley was right, the beer taps are always flowin’ at Shorty’s.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] Yes, yeah. “I didn’t know he meant it literally.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] So, I, just, even that small, just the way that was written to still be hilarious.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And iconic but without, ‘cause you can’t have flirty Nicole who has a wife, being all “ooh wet t-shirt contest.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, yeah. But I also love how still Seda managed to capture that instant magnetism between the two of them.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, ‘cause Nicole started to say “when I see something I like…” Wait a minute. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : “When I see something I want…” Yeah, “when I see something I want…” and then she cut herself off. Like, “why am I saying that?”

 

DELAYNE : And was like “uuh, yeah your door was open.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Which was a good play on that lame sort of “oh, well, and your door was open, so…”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. But yeah, so right off the bat we do have that charge of electricity, that charge of attraction between these two people, but they can’t be together, and I found it really fascinating to see, into Waverly’s mind and thought processes.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And Nicole’s thought processes, and how they are both good people trying to do the right thing. And that is so painful. [laughter] It’s so painful because we know that they’re supposed to be together.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Right, that’s the thing when you have, when you have soulmates and, of course, we’ve seen this played out time and time again. You have uh, two people who really are supposed to be together, and one of them is currently with someone else, usually it turns out horribly, but the soulmates still get together.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and something I really liked and appreciated, is much like uh, the idea of Shae in the series, we have uh, a wife who is not a shrew. We have a wife who is a good person, um, she is not like Shae, in that her appearance...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...her appearance or general sort of mannerisms or likes, dislikes things like that. She’s not a doctor, she’s rather bookish, and she’s rather butch, and not like intensely so, but she’s got the short haircut, she’s got the hipstery glasses and she’s got that kind of aesthetic going on, and...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] The nerdy butch vibe.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. And uh, and she’s a, she’s a good person. And she does start fighting to keep Nicole, but I mean, who wouldn’t, my god. Who wouldn’t fight to keep Nicole.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, that is a definite dig in your heels type situation, and uh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I just really enjoyed the way that Seda set that whole dynamic up where Chris is trying to be reasonable and she’s trying to be considerate and she’s trying to be um, open-minded because she knows that Nicole would never cheat on her, and this is the truth. Nicole would never cheat on her, and Nicole reaffirms her commitment to Chris, repeatedly, and ya know, “I’m here for you. I’m committed to you. This is our life together.” And so you can see Chris kind of going through these stages of like “ok, I’m going to be chill about this, um, I recognize that there is an attraction between my wife and this other person, I trust my wife” and we go through that. Then we get into the “it’s not that I don’t trust you it’s that I need you to not speak to this person anymore, for me. I need, I didn’t wanna be that person, but right now I think I need to be that person.” So...

 

DELAYNE : And yeah, it wasn’t like, like you said true, straight up jealous, crazy “you stay away from her sort” of business, ya know, yeah, so that was nice to see.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. And again, so...

 

DELAYNE : For not making Chris the bad guy.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly, Chris is not the bad guy, if anything, Chris kind of ends up being the hero of the story.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, honestly.

 

DELAYNE : I, really there are very few outcomes that would be honorable for all involved.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And, Seda took the, pretty much the only option. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, there were very limited ways that this could go. I mean, and it still be ok for Nicole to, to be with Waverly. And, ya know, yeah, I think the most, this was the most palatable option.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Of the options. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause wow, they go through some scenes um, ‘cause, ‘cause the Nedley’s couch scene...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...where Waverly, how far into spoilerish territory are we going here.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I mean, ok, yeah, we can talk about parallels. Alright, so, in the television series, we all know how the Nedley’s couch scene goes.

 

DELAYNE : Right. Waverly admits she likes Nicole by kissing her.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, but that cannot happen in this version of the world, but she can still admit that she likes Nicole.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, and she does.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, so, and she does. She admits it. And, it’s one of those moments where like, it’s [laughter] it’s one of those moments where Waverly really isn’t thinking.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : She’s thinking for herself, she’s thinking “if I get this information out in the open, then it’s out of my system and I can start working through it and getting past it.” But she doesn’t stop and think about how this information is going to affect Nicole.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my gosh, that line. Nicole’s line. Ugh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ugh.

 

DELAYNE : Do you want your heart do just break? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I know. Especially after how magnanimous she is, right before that moment.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : She’s like, “I’m so thankful that you felt you could come tell me these things. It’s ok, we’ll get through this together. I understand.”

 

DELAYNE : “I’ll still be your friend.”

 

DARKWICCAN : “I’ll still be your friend.”

 

DELAYNE : “But yeah, we can’t do this.” Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, and then...

 

DELAYNE : [sigh]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and then. Ugh. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my gosh. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And really, it speaks to how well Nicole has been able to keep her personal feelings close to the vest.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : How, how Waverly genuinely seemed to not have any clue that it might be reciprocal, ya know.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, and, and that’s part of why she didn’t add that extra element of thought into what that kind of a confession might do to somebody else, um, especially if they were harboring similar feelings. So, yeah, just woof. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but I mean, other things too. I mean we do have the widow bite happen as it would have happened in season two and Nicole ending up in dire straits in the hospital, but this time Chris is there.

 

DELAYNE : Mhmm. And Chris says the line.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh yeah, “she really loves you, Waverly Earp.” Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Like oooh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, and...

 

DELAYNE : That blew me away. I was blown away.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Like “what?”

 

DARKWICCAN : And, but I also love the beauty of the tragedy of that moment where here you have two women who are the only two women in the world who know what it’s like to be on the verge of losing the love of their life and it happens to be the same person.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and sad and uh, but they’re, they comfort each other and Waverly finds the strength she needs to do what she ends up doing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, but I mean this whole story is building up the pressure in a bottle right.

 

DELAYNE : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Everything is building and building and building and at some point, there’s gotta be a release, the top’s gotta blow.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, and the top blows at Dolls’ funeral. That’s right. Seda foretold the death of Dolls. I mean [blow up sound]. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Right, so at this point we have gotten through, um, all two seasons in canon and ya know, brief mention, ‘cause at this point, Nicole has been told not to see Waverly anymore.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And, side note, they go after Bulshar and Dolls doesn’t make it, and how spot on is that? Oh my gosh.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, just crazy. Just crazy. And one of the many things that Seda nailed in writing this story.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Prior to the airing of season three.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, as you said, uh, Nicole has been forbidden by Chris from speaking to Waverly at this point, but Dolls’ death is an exception. [snicker] Uh, Chris knows that Waverly’s going to be at the funeral. Chris opts not to join Nicole at the funeral ‘cause she sees it as a death of Nicole’s colleague, so she doesn’t really feel like it’s her place to be there, plus the whole Waverly thing. She just doesn’t wanna be there. So, well, it’s that moment in time where you forget yourself and you forget everything and you just need connection for a moment.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : With someone you care about and who cares about you, and so all thought just goes out the window and in that one moment in time you lose yourself, and that’s, but then you come back to yourself and it’s horrible.

 

DELAYNE : [snicker]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, poor Nicole. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Ahaha.

 

DARKWICCAN : Has a bit of a break down and Waverly promises her that she will fix the problem. How, you ask? Well, I’m not going to tell you. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You have to read the story. But yeah, before we, before we kinda jump into the next phase here, let’s talk about the things that Seda managed to nail. For example, Nicole’s parents.

 

DELAYNE : Nicole’s hippie deadbeat parents. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Like Nicole’s parents who are disappointed in her for becoming a cop.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Like, how did she nail that? [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Right, ‘cause, almost, I, we’ve only had, what, one other exception, and it wasn’t quite the same, but it was, but uh, it wasn’t that Nicole was gay, which is usually how it’s been written.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right.

 

DELAYNE : In fact, in this story, it’s Chris’ parents, but that’s how they then decided that they needed to form their own family.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, that’s really what led them to getting married, was Chris’ rejection from her family, and Nicole’s rejection from her family for wanting to go into law enforcement. And, so they were like, “we’re blood family-less now, so let’s just create our own family. Let’s just get married.” So, ya know, yeah. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, but like woah. That was spot on.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it really, it was. Because the the other instance we talked about on this show, it was in the Fawning over Florae series where it was more like Nicole’s mother looked at police work as blue collar and beneath them.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know, ‘cause they were white collar, uppercrust people. So, in this instance it really is, no, they’re hippies and, ya know, they didn’t want their daughter workin’ for the man, man. [said in a stoner voice]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Or possibly getting them in trouble for any illegal activity they’re currently participating in.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, right. “You gonna narc on us?” That’s not a direct quote, I don’t think, I don’t recall. Uh, but yeah, so that is more truly in line with what we get the feeling of from canonical version of the story of Nicole’s parents from the show, so yeah, just kinda free wheelin’ hippies.

 

DELAYNE : Was there any more, or those were the two main, obvious, nail on the head.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Those were the main, obvious ones. But, I just gotta say I love the idea of Nicole’s version of rebelling was becoming totally straight laced. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ‘Cause it’s like her parents were just like “hey whatever, man” and ya know, so she was like “alright, well, I’m gonna follow the rules precisely and I’m going to live by a system and I’m going to be orderly and I’m going to, ya know, become a cop”. I just love the fact that she basically got a part-time job at her school because the teacher’s noticed that she was constantly being forgotten by her parents to come get her, so they were like “you wanna help the janitor?” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I actually know a few people who essentially went the military route because they, ya know, having a completely disordered life, they craved...

 

DARKWICCAN : Structure.

 

DELAYNE : ...laws and orders and rules, so yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : It makes sense.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I don’t know about you, but I certainly would like to know more about how Seda came up with these bullseyes that she happened to land in season three by accident, and uh, really how she developed this story, and everything.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah, that sounds like a great idea. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, so we have an interesting situation this time around. Um, so Seda did and did not agree to come on the show. Uh, so we respect our authors um, privacy immensely here, obviously. Most of us use a pseudonym. Example, DarkWiccan, um.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, so oftentimes when authors come on the show, we’ll ask them “how would you like us to refer to you”, and ya know, either they’ll tell us to keep using their pseud or they’ll give an alternative name. Whether it’s their actual name or just a nickname or whatever. Doesn’t really matter to us, but that’s usually enough for authors to feel comfortable coming on the show, and remaining as anonymous as they want to be. Now, Seda is unique in that she is very concerned about her anonymity being foiled. So, we came up with a different solution. What we did is we sent her our questions in advance, and she replied back in writing. So, for our second segment today, we’re going to essentially be conducting a mock interview, where we will ask our questions, and then my lovely wife will read Seda’s answers. So, we will still be having a second segment with an author interview, it’s just a performative author interview. So, this is a new one for us, but I think it’s gonna be...

 

DELAYNE : We’ve done a modified version before when we had two authors on...

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s correct.

 

DELAYNE : ...and one of them was unavailable to participate.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that’s right. They were unavailable because they couldn’t get to a place to actually be able to record, um, safely, so they provided their answers in writing, and that was for the Diverse Dynamics episode of season one.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, we had my wife step in and read Jude81’s answers on-air. So, we’re basically doing that, except instead of having an additional author um, who is live with us, it’s all just pre-written answers. So, just sorta know that, we’re not gonna have the usual kinda banter and back and forth that you might expect from the secondary segment.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but I can tell you, having read Seda’s answers, that they are very lively and a lot of fun, and I know my wife’s gonna have fun reading them, and so we’ll keep it as exciting as we possibly can. But, yeah, so, that’s just a little quick explanation of what you can expect in segment two. But before we dive into segment two, we have to introduce [CONTENT CENSORED - PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC : Hurts so Good by John Cougar-Mellencamp

 

DARKWICCAN : And welcome back everybody, to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is my lovely cohost-

 

DELAYNE : Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are very excited because joining us for the second segment, is my lovely wife MJ, who will be reading off Seda’s answers to our questions that we sent to her previously. As we mentioned before, Seda is a bit concerned about retaining her anonymity in full, so in order to accommodate that, we sent her our questions previously and she provided us with her answers written out, so MJ will be reading that for us. Um, and my lovely wife being so very dedicated, is already in character, so we are going to go ahead...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and dive in, so, um, Seda, it is so wonderful having you on the show with us today, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions for us.

 

MJ as SEDA : Thanks so much. I just checked, and it’s pretty much exactly one year since I started my first fic. At the time, I genuinely thought it would be a one off, but these ideas just keep popping up and I keep needing to just get them out of my system. So, writing these things has been such a huge part of my last year, and yet I’ve not talked to anyone about it, at all. So, it’s such an enormous, bloody, treat, to actually be asked to talk about it, so thank you, and I hope all of this is interesting.

 

DELAYNE : So, Seda, there were so many iconic Wayhaught scenes, like their intro bar scene or the Nedley’s office scene, which was was the most difficult to write and why? 

 

MJ as SEDA : Oh god, the very first one deffo. Sorry, this is no deep answer, but I always really struggle with set-up, and I always feel like it takes two or three chapters to get into the writing of any story, and I'm never happy with the beginning of any of my multi-chapter ones, this one included. So that's not a very interesting answer but it's a true one. Like, I really wanted to convey that same sense of flirtation and connection that is practically canon in fics by now - I'm genuinely unsure if the show means to portray it as love at first sight but being a ridiculous romantic, me and like half the other authors out there kinda like to interpret it that way - but I wanted Nicole to be sorta still making those advances, but also catching herself, like “whats going on here? Why am I flirting?” But I really don't know if I captured that right. I guess I'll maybe be cheeky and turn your question around if I can? And say that actually, I absolutely loved writing all those canon scene re-writes, and to be honest they were the easiest part of the fic to get down. They honestly kind of wrote themselves. Like, the whole premise of the story was how would things play out if you started them from this alternative starting point? And well the characters of the show are just so well realised it's like the answers to that question just fell out of me without much of the way of conscious effort. So, the only scenes I actually had a plan for when I first figured out the concept for the fic were the one-oh nine ones - Nedley's office, and the misunderstanding scene in the street.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

MJ as SEDA : For all the others, I kept on just putting them in those scenes, and kinda watched myself what happened next! I'm curious though about your question - were there any that didn't work as a reader?

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, no, I don’t think so. I think actually, everything was remarkably seamless. Delayne, what do you think?

 

DELAYNE : No, they all worked for me, uh, the fact that they worked so well with the changes is why I asked the question, ‘cause it did work so well. So, how difficult was it, ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and in fact, it wasn’t just a matter of making changes to those scenes in particular, but also sort of general changes to the character’s background as well. Could you tell us more on your motivation to not make Nicole’s wife Shae.

 

MJ as SEDA : Yeah for sure. Main thing really is that Shae has a whole set of connotations attached to her in the fandom which carry this massive massive weight, and it felt like that would dominate or basically throw off what I wanted for the story. Like, when she popped up from nowhere everyone was so shocked, and a lot of people pretty appalled by the sheer fact of her, right? For what it's worth I think what she's been saddled with is actually a little unfair to the character of Shae as she's portrayed in the show. You look at the character on the show and actually, in what she says and does, she's kinda a sweetheart. But I know for my own part I can't be wholly objective about her, because it just felt like such an oddity in the show. Not Nicole being married - for my money the character that is Nicole Haught would *totally* get married, and would totally get married young. And yeah, as I've written it, I can totally see her getting married for kinda the wrong reasons, for sure. But I've never been able to wrap my head around her doing this wild impulsive Vegas wedding - she's such an old fashioned, respect for authority type, I don't see her entering into marriage lightly like that. So, okay, I could've still maybe have had my scenario but done it with Shae. But I also wanted to do things with the character of Nicole's wife that I didn't think fit in with even the brief glimpse of what we saw of Shae. Like, I wanted Nicole's wife to be this sort of bookish, maybe a little shy, certainly ever so slightly spiky character, but still enough of a good person that you can see Nicole genuinely liking and caring for her. And I wanted her to have a sort of 'you and me against the world babe’ relationship with Nicole. And I wanted to write Nicole, for all her need to create a family in absence of her own, and also out of that kindness and loyalty and generosity of love she's got, effectively saying, “okay, sure, I can do that, you and me against the world it is then” and not really properly questioning if that's actually one hundred percent right for her, cos she's busy thinking about taking care of this other person. And, even if it is unfair to the character of Shae, I just couldn't see those two with that dynamic. Hence, enter stage left, Christine.

 

DELAYNE : So, this was written and published just before season three aired and before we find out in canon that Nicole had neglectful hippie parents. What was your reason for writing them that way?

 

MJ as SEDA : Aw yeah, I had a bit of a dance when it came out that way in the show! Like - caaaalled [sic] it!

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

MJ as SEDA : Nah, I'm joking - I guess write enough around canon and you're going to get something right sooner or later! So it was probably just dumb luck, but for what it's worth I'll give you my reasoning. So, one of the things I love so much about the way Nicole Haught is written is just the matter of fact way she carries her lesbianism. Like, she just is, right? Like she's tall, or a redhead - it's just another part of who she is, and it mostly only gets mentioned when it is actually relevant - like when an eight foot gnome is trying to marry you off or whatever. And that's actually so rare and precious in TV representation - like the number of characters where their gayness is a big story, and sometimes their only story, and really all that they are allowed to be. Whereas with Nicole - it's just handled so naturally. I really do think they must have some queerness on the core writing staff cos there are these little moments that are handled with this amazing deftness which I'm not sure a straight person would necessarily get - like that bit in the fire station with the fireman calendar and 'lucky me’ - the look on her face - god bless Kat Barrells comic delivery cos bloody hell she nails that sort of thing. Portraying someone who is just so completely at home and comfortable in her sexuality it's not upsetting to her when this assumption is made, but it's just like - “naked-man-does-not-compute” :D And then of course there are times where she will respond where it feels right to, like with the funeral parlour dude, when she is all like fuck you, this woman is not yours to patronise or put in your small town box of assumptions thank you very much. I promise I'm getting to your question! My point is, that whilst it's practically canon in fics by now that Nicole's got homophobic parents - and I'm not having a go, I did exactly that in my first fic too! No, just my experience of people who've had that sort of fight to be accepted in their youth are often a lot more front and centre about it later. You basically have to be, right, or else you'd just lose yourself in the shame and homophobia. But Nicole just seems so chill about the whole thing, and that kinda feels like it's mostly been no big deal for her. Whereas, okay, what *has* she got a chip on her shoulder about? What is palpably and demonstrably a massive part of her own self-identity, and what has she lost her shit about on more than one occasion? That she's a cop, and she's a straight-up by the book one at that. And that she wants to help, and be involved in stuff, and be important, and be relied on. There's a massive depth and actually I think a hurt and vulnerability to her feelings on all that that speak of having come through some sort of fight for it, and of maybe having had to make some sacrifices for it along the way. And she's so responsible, and such an old head on relatively young shoulders, and again that's something I've seen a lot in kids, women particularly, who've had to bring themselves or siblings up in neglectful situations. So, that all led me on to writing her parents like I did. Plus, like Waverly in the story, I could just totally see a teen Nicole stacking janitorial supplies with an air of absolute grave seriousness, and so really really wanted to write it.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, wow, that’s a good answer.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s a great answer. Um, so, was it difficult to avoid falling into the standard tropes this scenario typically falls victim to?

 

MJ as SEDA : Umm, this might sound bad, but pretty easy I think? There are so many great fics out there that have trod this sort of ground, and I guess I very consciously didn't want to do the same, because, well a lot of the time it's been done really well and no point competing right?! I dunno, conscious I sound like a bit of a jerk saying this, but I wanted my Nicole to be a bit closer to the character you see in canon. There's a lot of great fics set when she's younger, or in AUs where I can see her having this rotten mean girlfriend who Waverly has to do righteous battle with or rescue Nicole from. But I didn't want that. I wanted that slightly more grown up, soft a.f. Nicole who's made good dating and life choices...I dunno. I can't see her getting married except to someone who was fundamentally a decent person, like Christine is meant to be. And I definitely didn't want them cheating. Like, I know they kissed before Chris left Nicole, but I really, really didn't want WayHaught to actually sleep together before Chris and Nicole properly separated. I think if they had done that the guilt would've just eaten them up, and poisoned what I wanted to be a beautiful moment for the two of them. So yeah, if you thought I managed to find any sort of freshness in this scenario, then I'm over the moon really!

 

DELAYNE : So, again, this was written before season three, so was killing off Dolls intended to be prophetic or was it pure coincidence?

 

MJ as SEDA : Pure co-incidence! Aw, poor Dolls man! You know how guilty I've been feeling about that? Especially since the show went ahead and basically did the exact same thing. No, I'm afraid this one was actually pure boring logical plot reasons. Which is horrible really - like lesbians have been killed off left right and centre for plot reasons for years, and it makes me livid, so to do that to Dolls, especially being another minority character, is pretty awful and I am cross with myself for doing it. But, okay, not to justify but to explain the reasoning. I knew I wanted that scene where they just give in and finally kiss to be at a funeral, for couple of reasons. First, just because they're so sad and grieving, they just need each other more than ever. Okay. But then, well I hope you don't know too much about this but you know there's always such a weird feeling about funeral days? Like it's a day out of time, you've got a day off work and everyone's saying “have a nice day off!” and you're kinda, “yeah, not so much”. And then half the time it's sunny, and half the time something funny will happen, and everyone will laugh, but you feel terrible for still being able to find humour on a day like that. And then just that horrible horrible moment when you put someone in the ground - it's gut wrenching. And then there's all the standing around awkwardly afterwards drinking cheap wine and eating crappy sausage rolls, and everyone's slightly drunk but pretending for decorum's sake  not to be... Anyway, there's always a feeling to me on days like that that normal rules just don't apply. And I wanted to put them there, because I figured that sort of wrench and that sort of day was the only time you were going to get the two of them doing what they do, and consciously go against everything they've decided, and kiss. And, oh man, poor Nicole huh? She instantly regretted it but also was instantly like - yup, that proves it, Waverly is it for me. Shiiiit [sic]. You know? And I know it's awful, but I was kinda proud of that scene. I was happy how Waves goes right from “screw you and what you want I don't care anymore” straight to, “oh my god, what have I done, I'm so so sorry, what can I do to put this right”. And I have her address Nicole as “my love” which is kinda the sort of term you use with someone you've been with for years, because I think in some part of her unconscious mind at that moment it's like they *are* together, even though the very next thing she does is buy a bus ticket out of town. Anyway, I'm rambling. What was the question? Dolls! So yeah, basically I had to kill someone off. And that someone had to be a big deal to both Waverly and Nicole. And, okay, I just need to say hand on heart there's no way I'm ever touching either of them or Wynonna in any fic, ever. Spoiler alert. So that leaves the boys, and really just leaves Dolls and Doc. And I chose Dolls, because I also knew I wanted that scene at the end with Alice Michelle, and Wynonna kinda consciously welcoming Nicole into the Earp family by letting her put her to bed. And I wanted that scene and that section of the fic to be pure relief, pure fluff and happiness. And if the kid had just lost her father it would've had a whole different feel to it, a much sadder feel. And I was done with sadness by then! So yeah, poor Dolls got it I'm afraid. Blame the show for making Doc the father not Dolls! 

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Fair enough, ok. So, [laughter] talking about the choices that everybody has to make and Waverly and Nicole working so incredibly hard to not be together despite the intense magnetism that is between them and they cannot deny this connection, but Nicole is so loyal and Waverly is so good that there is really only one way that this could resolve, and therefore Nicole’s wife, Chris, is truly the hero of this piece. What made you decide to put the solution firmly in her hands?

 

MJ as SEDA : Ah, you know it was so funny, when I started writing it I was genuinely thinking that everybody was going to hate Chris, and be like, oh, push her under a bus Seda, just who do you think you are you kidding. So I was genuinely surprised, and a little touched actually at how much love she got. Don't know if that's because Earpers are just the best, or...dunno, maybe a lot of us have been the Chris? One or two people seemed to be actively rooting for her towards the end! I don't know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

MJ as SEDA : Chris was the hero in that her actions were the catalyst to the happy ending we all wanted for Wayhaught. But all three women were heroic, in their own way. I mean, heroism and self-sacrifice and doing the right thing regardless of the impact on yourself is such a continuous and important theme of the show, right? And I think Nicole and Waves are both trying to do that - and I think that's authentic to their characters. Like, Nicole is so upstanding and honourable, once she's made this promise to Chris she's gonna do absolutely everything in her power to keep it, even when you can see towards the end she's not sure anymore if it's the right thing to do, in her head it's like the *only* thing to do. And Waves, aw man. So, okay, we know she's an absolute sweetheart, and would never want to break up any marriage. But I think there's two things bigger than that for her. First, is she really gets Nicole, in the same way that Nicole just gets her. And I think she'd know how important it was to Nicole to keep her promises - and again, I think even if she thought Nicole was making the wrong call by staying with Chris, I think she'd respect that and love her for it and wouldn't want to put any pressure on Nicole to be someone she's not. And then, sad and shitty to say but I think it's true - I think there's that huge undercurrent in Waverly's make-up that just simply doesn't believe she deserves nice things. And I think that's a big factor in why she doesn't just fight her own side. I tell you what it was such a bloody relief to give her Nicole in the end. Poor lamb deserves the moon and the stars. And fortunately Nicole is all of that, in a great big hot lesbian cop wrapper. Anyway, I'm digressing back to Wayhaught again...as I do tend to do! - Chris. Yeah. You could - not saying this is right - but you *could* actually construe the story as being about her journey to heroism. Like, Nicole and Waves don't really change from the beginning to the end - they meet, they fall in love, they stay in love - there's no actual development there. But Chris does - like in the beginning, she is basically suspicious of Waverly and the whole of Purgatory. And, well I never spell it out, but in my head she works out what's going on pretty early on - and then spends most of the fic fighting to hold on to Nicole. Which, totally fair enough - you would do, wouldn't you?! So the fact that she first reconciles and accepts the reality of what's going on, and then finally realises the only way the woman she loves is going to be happy is with someone else - what an amazing, beautiful gesture. But she wasn't there at the start. I dunno, to give Wayhaught credit, you could say it was maybe her seeing Nicole and even Waverly prepared to make that self-same sacrifice for her sake that taught her the bravery to then do that for them. Does that make any sense? 

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that makes absolutely sense.

 

DELAYNE : Wow. [laughter] Just, wow. All of these answers. Oh my gosh.

 

DARKWICCAN : You chose to jump quite a bit into their future to close out the piece. I don't actually think I've ever seen elderly WayHaught featured before. Was that a nod to your theme of dawn, to finish this story at the dusk of their lives?

 

MJ as SEDA : Oh bless you! That would've been good, wouldn't it?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

MJ as SEDA : Can I lie through my teeth and say, mm-hmm, oh yes, I definitely meant that, oh yeah. No, no, I'm afraid I didn't think of it like that. I'll take the poetry of that and absolutely chuffed to bits you thought of that because actually yeah that totally works. But no, that was not a conscious plan. No, it was - this is kinda cheating, really. But the whole story was pitting sort of, quote unquote 'true love’ versus the more prosaic, companionship and habit sort of love that Nicole and Chris had. And, I dunno, in real life I'm genuinely not sure which of those would win. Love has got me in some dodgy old situations, I can tell you, and I think the Christines of this world are maybe no bad thing. But in fic-world - I basically wanted a scene that showed, completely unambiguously, yes Waverly and Nicole genuinely are soul mates, yes they genuinely were meant to be, and no they didn't just hop into bed and then wander off a year or two down the line for someone else. I wanted to show that that horrible decision Chris chose to make was the right one. I also, quite selfishly, after having put them through like a dozen chapters of utter shite, wanted to give them a massive happy end. And so the time jump was sort of my cheaty way of saying, okay, not just yay they got together aren't they happy, but also, look, they stay happy, and forty years later or however long it is, they're *still* happy. ‘Cause underneath it all I am basically just an enormous sap.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, Seda, thank you so much for joining us today in this unusual, but I think highly effective fashion. It has been a lot of fun to hear your words coming from my wife’s mouth.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Umm, you are an excellent author and have proven this to be only the case, as well, in your answering capabilities. Uh, and as you know we do have one more question that we must ask before we bring this interview to a close. Delayne?

 

DELAYNE :  Alright, so, you're stranded on a desert island and can have only one fanfic to read, what is it?

 

MJ as SEDA : You can't make me choose! You can't make me choooose [sic]!

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

MJ as SEDA : But, ok, I think I have to say, for the sake of concept, and execution, for freakishly spot-on characterisation, and incorporating my two favourite shows in one in an absolute genius way, I'd have to say the wonderful, the beautiful, much underrated, “The Sum Total of Living” by Doctor Ruth.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, excellent choice. That is an excellent choice. That has been selected previously as a desert island fic on the show, in fact, I believe it was last season that it was chosen and it was actually featured on an episode of season one of this show, episode twenty-five, Soul Deep. So, we will provide a link to both the story, “The Sum Total of Living” by Doctor Ruth and a link to last season’s episode Soul Deep. Well, Seda, it has been a delight having you on, thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule to answer us these questions, and I hope that we continue to see more WayHaught fanfic from you in the future.

 

MJ as SEDA : Thank you so, so much for having me on, and for letting me and my ego blabber on - it's been a blast!

 

MJ : And Seda, from MJ, thank you for letting me read your answers, they were delightful.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And thank you MJ, for reading them.

 

DELAYNE : Thank you, everyone, this has been great. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : God bless us, everyone [fake UK accent]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us. Special thanks to Seda for providing her answers in writing for us to read on air. Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro and huge thanks to MJ for reading Seda’s answers on her behalf.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, Coalescence by Chris Christodoulou, Hurts so Good by John Cougar-Mellencamp, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
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> 
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	12. Bad Moon Rising

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For this week's episode Darkwiccan and Delayne take a little trip back to the late 90's early 00's and reminisce about a simpler time that suddenly became really complicated - just like the fantastic fic by GraceKay that they're discussing!

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/bad-moon-rising)

 

Read the fic! 

[Finding Home Again](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14685099) by Grace Kay

 

 

Episode artwork by: [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

Grace Kay's Desert Island Fic: [The Dark Energy Series](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7501822/1/Dark-Energy) by Melara Dark

 

Episode Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [ApproxTenCats](https://twitter.com/approxtencats)

 

Ep 212: Bad Moon Rising

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN: Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everybody to another episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me is my delightful co-host...

DELAYNE: Hi, it’s Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: And we’re both dudded out in our hypercolor shirts and our slap bracelets,  with our caps on backwards, all while listening to Bell Biv DeVoe...

DELAYNE: No!

DARKWICCAN: Because this week we are going back to the nineties.  

DELAYNE: I thought it was basketball shorts and a ribbed tank top.

DARKWICCAN: Is that what you wore in the nineties? 

DELAYNE: No, that’s not what I wore but that’s what Nicole wears here.

DARKWICCAN: But that’s not what you wore, we are wearing what we wore...

DELAYNE: I wore jeans and polo shirts because that is on brand and that is what I have and always will wear.

DARKWICCAN: Man, you were not “on fleek”.

DELAYNE: My pants back then though were tapered leg, so at least I wear straight leg now.

DARKWICCAN:  [Laughter] Well, I have to admit even though I begged and begged and begged my mom I never got a hypercolor shirt and to this day one of my deepest regrets.  I wish I could have got a Hypercolor shirt so I could have worn it and ruined it after one wash.

DELAYNE: Oh yeah, I think I had one.  I think I remember having one. And yeah, it very quickly went, like, what happened to this thing?

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] I also never wore my pants backwards either.

DELAYNE: No.

DARKWICCAN: There are two reasons for that, one: it looks stupid.

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: But two: in order for that look to work you have to get brand new pants because if you use pants you have already broken in and you have a giant butt like mine.  I have a big… I will say, I have the bottom of someone not of my race.

DELAYNE: My wife, who is African-American, does claim that I have the big black booty and she has none.

DARKWICCAN: You got hers.  

DELAYNE: I got hers.  She has mine.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, but if you have pants and you have shapely buttocks, and then you turn them around and try to wear them backwards it just looks...

DELAYNE: No, it don’t work.

DARKWICCAN: … horrible, no it does not work.  So those are two reasons I never wore my pants backwards, never.

DELAYNE: There were a couple of basketball shorts, you know, when we first started dating and I’d sleep over she’d lend me and then they became mine because she’s like, “I can’t wear these again, there’s an ass in them now and I am not used to this.”

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] Ladies and gentlemen welcome to “Too Much Information”...

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN:  A brand new podcast...

DELAYNE: [Wild Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Where we divulge… far too much information.

DELAYNE: Very very quickly.

DARKWICCAN: Primarily about our butts.

DELAYNE: I feel like we’ve taken a new turn.

DARKWICCAN: Let’s get this back on course.  I feel horrible, it’s my fault we went down this tangent.

DELAYNE: You lead and I follow.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, that’s completely on me. Entirely, entirely my fault. [Laughter]

DELAYNE: So what are we talking about today?

DARKWICCAN: I was chasing waterfalls I should not have chased.

DELAYNE: [Falls back into hysterical laughter] God damn it.  That was brilliant, that was… [continues uncontrolled laugh spiral]

DARKWICCAN: We’ll give Delayne a moment to recover.

DELAYNE: You’re a goddamn genius, I love this.

DARKWICCAN: Alright, so anyway now that we’ve stopped talking about  _ Baby Got Back _ let’s move on to chatting about the actual story we are here to discuss which is a nineties inspired fic.  It’s  _ Finding Home Again _ by Grace Kay.  And it is a delightful roller coaster ride of a high school AU with a severe left hand turn.

DELAYNE: [Laughter] Severe?  This is a full U-turn, on-ramp, off-ramp, we’re all over the goddamn place…..

DARKWICCAN:  [Laughter] But in the best way.

DELAYNE: This is not what I was expecting when I signed up for this high school AU,  Nicole is in the drumline story.

DARKWICCAN: I know, you got so excited, you got so excited because it’s a nineties AU, high school, and Nicole is in the band.  I know you’re probably just over the moon excited with this.

DELAYNE: Exactly, I love this, I’m here for this, and then… we’re doing cookies in the middle of the road?  I don’t know what the hell’s going on.

DARKWICCAN: [Kind of hesitant] I don’t either.  So let’s just start off talking about how the story begins.  It’s kind of a stereotypical high school AU, we’ve seen this scenario before where Nicole has been kicked out of her parents house because they find out she is gay, and she’s been taken in either by a friend of the family or a relative who happens to live in Purgatory and she ends up going to Purgatory High School where she meets Waverly.  We’ve heard this song and dance before. All that matters, it doesn’t matter that...

DELAYNE: And in this case it’s Randy Nedley who takes her in, who happens to be a friend of the family.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, I was building up to that.

DELAYNE: Oh sorry.  [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN:  It’s okay, it’s alright!  But what I was trying to say is yes we’ve heard this before in other stories, it does not matter if a premise is re-used as long as the re-use is unique and well developed in the writer’s own voice, and that is absolutely the case here.

DELAYNE: Oh, definitely.

DARKWICCAN: I was completely onboard from the outset, and as you say Randy is the friend of the family in this instance who ends up taking Nicole in under dire straits and you know, essentially kind of pseudo adopting her, if not legally in a more colloquial way I guess.  So, I mean, and yeah and then we get the whole Waverly and Nicole meet. And I know you’re super excited that she’s on the drumline as we were talking about a moment ago.

DELAYNE: Yeah, so me being a band nerd throughout high school I’m like, “yes, we have band, we have at least one of them being  a band nerd.” Like, I am here for this and, you know, Nicole going through… you know, first of all she moves to Purgatory being a much smaller town ‘cause this takes place in California and she, like, moves from the Bay Area and now she’s in this tiny town of Purgatory.  And even just something simple as we have to wait for football to be done before we can band practice? So band practice goes fairly late? Like, I understand that. [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.

DELAYNE: And they’re making fun of Nicole like, “oh you went to a big fancy school where you had your own practice field.” And you know, football was practicing on the football field and you had your own little practice field like no, we had to wait.  And if it was raining or something we had to do this weird practice inside sometimes. So just these little details, I’m so here for this, I love this, it speaks to me.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, absolutely and I forgot actually that even though I re-read this story three days ago, I forgot that Grace had actually transplanted Purgatory from Canada to California so thank you for that refresher.  I had completely forgotten about that so yeah.

DELAYNE: I’m here for the stuff that you miss, and you’re here for everything else because I don’t catch a lot.

DARKWICCAN:  [Laughter] So we get the initial set-up as I mentioned before and Nicole meets… well, first of all Chrissy is essentially Nicole’s kind of, half-sister, sort of.  I mean they’ve just gotten this whole relationship going so it’s not like they’re super tight but I mean they’ve known each other.

DELAYNE: Since Nicole mentions she’s known Chrissy since Chrissy was a baby.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.

DELAYNE: Yeah, she was a wee one and they were friends and she’s always known Chrissy.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, and so we get that kind of set up and then we have Nicole meeting the Earp sisters and I recall that Wynonna and Nicole get paired on a project together right?

DELAYNE: Well, first they meet in the office, just like, wait why is Wynonna in the office?  She’s in trouble. But conveniently Nicole arrives like, “well, I’m signing up for classes” and Wynonna’s conveniently… so Wynonna in this case... a lot of times we see Waverly taking Nicole around to classes but in this case it’s Wynonna ‘cause… I forget, I don’t know if she was tardy but she ended up in the office was like, “sweet cool I can get out of class, yeah I’ll take this new kid around.”

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter] Right, ‘cause that’s how Wynonna would see the advantages there.

DELAYNE: Right.  I don’t have to go to class right away?  Woo Hoo!

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.  Where Waverly would see the advantage being both scholastic and being a good person, being the friendliest person in Purgatory, Wynonna would see the opportunity to get out of class to give this new chick a school tour.

DELAYNE: And then by lunch time, right?  By lunch time, everyone has heard that this new girl in town has been taken in by Randy, got kicked out for being a big old dyke. So...

DARKWICCAN: Gotta love small towns, gotta love high school gossip mills.

DELAYNE: So Wynonna takes her in and this other new kid, Jeremy, they’re like, “hey, we’re the weird people so pretty much let’s all be friends ‘cause we’re all different from everyone else.”

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.  The weirdos have gotta stick together, I mean, that’s why all the drummer kids stick together, that’s why the band kids stick together you know, the chess club kids, you know you gotta make sure you surround yourself with like-minded people in your clique so that you are protected against the roving jocks and preps and whatnot.

DELAYNE: Precisely.  So yeah, we start the high school and she’s friends with Wynonna and Jeremy ‘cause they’re the odd kids out and then we meet Waverly.  And Nicole can’t stop staring, that’s one of my other favorite bits like, “quit staring!!” Nicole is like gay panic, yelling at herself, “quit staring!!” 

DARKWICCAN: Yes.

DELAYNE: “Quit staring at this girl!” She’s like, “knock it off”, she’s mentally slapping herself.

DARKWICCAN:  Oh man, we’ve all been there though.  This is all so thoroughly, delightfully, horrifyingly relatable, right?

DELAYNE: Exactly.

DARKWICCAN: And I mean the nineties was our time.  We were high school kids in the nineties so everything just clicks, and unfortunately of course, Waverly is with Champ, correct?  And her birthday’s coming up and she ends up throwing a party, and it’s at the Earp Homestead, right? She’s throwing the party at the Homestead, and Champ… 

DELAYNE: And ‘cause, Wynonna leaves to go get Waverly’s present right?  The jeep is Waverly’s present.

DARKWICCAN: That’s correct yeah.  So Wynonna has left and Champ essentially decides that his gift to Waverly, come on guys, what do you think Champ thinks a spectacular birthday gift would be to Waverly?

DELAYNE: [Groaning in the background]

DARKWICCAN: So she turns him down.  She says thanks but no thanks, I don’t want this.  And Champ, being the douchebag that he is, basically takes the party with him.  He walks out and he takes everybody with him except for Nicole who sticks around.

DELAYNE: Right, ‘cause she was there with Wynonna anyway.

DARKWICCAN:  Right. Yeah.

DELAYNE: For the most part.

DARKWICCAN: Right.  So this is when things get a bit interesting.

DELAYNE: This is where I was so completely thrown.  Absolutely thrown.

DARKWICCAN: But let’s be fair.  Doesn’t take much.

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: I say that with love.

DELAYNE: Valid point.  Extremely valid point. I will give you that.  You are correct, it does not take much to throw me.

DARKWICCAN:  I will say that I was not thrown but I was definitely surprised.

DELAYNE: [Laughter] Okay, yeah, I can see that.  So, they’re like, the party has left, what assholes, hey you know what, let’s go take a joyride in the jeep on the property.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, so they do.

DELAYNE: And then they come across something, and then we get a little backstory of something that had happened to Wynonna, ‘cause she had been witness to it and therefore became the crazy chick who talked about this creature who attacked her parents!  And we get supernatural up in here and I was expecting a nice little fluffy high school AU.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, they take the jeep for a joyride out on the property and suddenly they can’t seem to find their way back home, which is unusual when you think about the fact that this is their property.

DELAYNE: I don’t remember the acreage but I can’t imagine it being large enough to be that lost.

DARKWICCAN: But even so, even if they’re going and doing donuts out in the expanse of the back ninety... 

DELAYNE: The back pasture?

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, they’d still be able to find their way back just based on tire marks because it’s a full moon, and that’s important.  So with the combination of headlights and tire marks they should be able to just follow their own trail back to the Homestead...

DELAYNE: Plus they were along the fenceline right?  They should just follow the fenceline.

DARKWICCAN: Precisely, so there’s no reason why they should be this horribly lost.  And then  _ it _ appears.  And as you say, Wynonna has a bit of a flashback and immediately throws the jeep into another gear and they take off trying to get away from this thing and they find themselves at a cabin that they didn’t even know was out there.  And suddenly we are introduced to some familiar characters from the show, that if this was not a paranormal AU they really don’t have a reason to be there, and that’s the moment when you go, “wait a minute, what just happened?” This was a classic beat-by-beat high school AU story, hitting every single note beautifully...

DELAYNE: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: And every single plot point that you would expect being hit but still delightful and original, and all of a sudden we’re in an episode of the X-Files... 

DELAYNE: [Laughter that does not stop]

DARKWICCAN: Which is still a nineties show, so appropriate.

DELAYNE: [Still laughing] You’re so funny, I’m sorry.

DARKWICCAN:  Thank you, I appreciate the validation, thank you so much.  I’m here all week.

DELAYNE: Yeah, I… so yeah, they learn a few things about this creature and what Wynonna had seen in the past and of course had been completely dismissed as crazy talk.  And, yeah, so they make it out of that situation...

DARKWICCAN: It’s really hard not to give away the game here, isn’t it?

DELAYNE: Yeah, but the scene after that, when Wynonna who had just spent all this time getting the jeep ready for Waverly, takes it back to Doc...

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

DELAYNE: “A cougar got that you say?”  “Yes, yes it was a cougar, uh huh, sure.”  Right.

DARKWICCAN: You know what that moment kind of reminded me of?  Although a bit more animal and a bit less human, was the whole story of [spooky voice] the man with the hook on his arm, and how when the couple gets home they discover a bloody hook hanging from the door handle.  That’s kind of like a similar thing here, although instead of being a hook it’s just huge gashes into this metal panel. Yep. Classic horror film framing there.

DELAYNE: Yes.  Yes that is… I think that’s why I enjoyed that scene so much, it sort of triggered that nostalgic classic horror film.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes. So now we’re still dealing with a high school AU with a cute little romance budding between Waverly and Nicole, ‘cause that is a must-have of course.  But running along with that, and in fact taking over as the major story arc is a supernatural mystery that these young kids have decided to take on and solve.  So you have the shenanigans that go with that, and the sorts of… I mean it kind of, there’s a lot going on here, it’s a lot to wrap your arms around. It’s so much fun and at the same time kind of scary, and super original and... yep.

DELAYNE: I was like, well we could um… yeah, how much of it do we give away?

DARKWICCAN: It’s really difficult, it’s really difficult and there’re all these elements that Grace Kay is having to balance and keep track of constantly as they’re telling the story and it’s really impressive that they’re able to do that because there are all these different beats of different arcs that they’re having to hit, almost, well I could say almost like a drumline.

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Bringing it back around.

DELAYNE: Ba dum ching

DARKWICCAN: Yes, rim shot!

DELAYNE: Uh, yeah, it is.  It’s a lot to keep track of.  And then, once we learn, I mean, Jeremy has his own unique storyline with his family, that’s an interesting point.   And then there’s more about Waverly and at the same time Nicole is this poor little lost soul being taken in by the Nedley’s and… it’s a lot.

DARKWICCAN:  Well, there’s a lot going on, and I love the fact that we never lose sight of the fact that these are teenagers and they’re not the greatest at being sneaky.  I mean teenagers think they’re so good at being sneaky. They’re terrible at it. They’re terrible at keeping stuff under wraps and being surreptitious about stuff.  They think they’re so great at it. And including me, as a teenager, I thought I was so great at being sneaky. Looking back on it now, I was an idiot. And I just love the fact that they keep accidentally getting more and more people involved. 

DELAYNE: [Laughter] It gets very complicated, like holy crap.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, there’s one character who I’ll just say, I won’t say anything more than they’re the drum major, and the way that they get initiated by accident into this whole mess is just so perfectly in character.  Their reaction is absolutely on point for this character and I thoroughly enjoyed watching that play out.

DELAYNE: Because, you know, me being in band, I was a saxophone, so the drumline was its own special sort of people.  And yes, you are correct, it is very well written and very in character. 

DARKWICCAN: Well something that I really enjoy about Grace Kay’s writing is that it’s very real, despite the circumstances being supernatural and out of this world, the way that they write is very very realistic and I’ve enjoyed that in other stories of theirs as well.  And what’s funny is I’ve discovered that they actually like to use the word “finding” in their titles because when I was doing a quick search for this story, I brought up a couple of stories by them with the word “finding”.

DELAYNE: Now I’ve gotta go click [inaudible]

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, but they wrote another story that is more about Waverly and Nicole as adults with children called  _ Finding The Time _ and they didn’t pull any punches, they were like, “here is what is physically happening, deal with it.”  And I loved that. And they brought that kind of sensibility into this story as well and so it’s just been a whole lot of fun to follow along.  And they do update fairly regularly, the most recent chapter for  _ Finding Home Again _ just went up on December 10.  By the time this airs I wouldn’t doubt that there will be another chapter, maybe two, that have posted.  But, yeah, it’s just a very original, well executed story. I just don’t know what to say about it without giving everything away.

DELAYNE: Right, just, I almost don’t even want to tell people about the supernatural because it’s so much fun to go in like, “oh this happy little high school AU” and you’re like, “woah! There’s a lot of storyline to this.”

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, I feel kind of bad that we even gave that much away but there’s literally no way to talk about the story, in any sort of depth, if we don’t mention that twist because that is what makes it so unique and so exciting.

DELAYNE: Yes.  I think if Grace were to write just a plain old fluffy high school AU that would work too, but I am enjoying the heck out of this.

DARKWICCAN: Oh yeah, absolutely, and how they weave this stereotypical high school movie trope scenarios into the supernatural wackiness is a lot of fun.

DELAYNE: That and the mindset of these teenagers is very, like you said, they think they’re being sneaky and yet everytime they turn around someone else finds out about it.  Just, the decision making in general of a teenager is very realistic.

DARKWICCAN: There is a very real part of me that hopes that when the story resolves and the villain has been overcome, that the villain says, “I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for these meddling kids.”

DELAYNE: [Wild uncontrolled laughter]  That would be fantastic.

DARKWICCAN: It would be, that would be, it would be so awesome.

DELAYNE: Well, you just killed me, good job.

DARKWICCAN:  Well, you can’t die because we still have to get to our second segment today.

DELAYNE: Right, very important, where we get to talk to Grace Kay.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, of course, of course, it should be obvious by now that we will always for the most part be talking with the author of the piece that we will be discussing at length in the first segment. Or if we’re doing an episode where we are talking about multiple pieces typically the last piece we talk about we will then interview the author of that story.  So there’s no difference here, we have of course, spent the entire time chatting about this fantastic story  _ Finding Home Again _ by Grace Kay, so I’m super excited to chat with Grace in our second segment.  

 

[CONTENT CENSORED - PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

[MUSIC] Quest for Honor by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN: And welcome back everybody to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me is my spectacular co-host...

DELAYNE: Delayne.

DARKWICCAN:  … and we are very excited to have with us right now the author of the wonderful high school AU with a twist, the story we were talking about before the break,  _ Find Home Again _ , the inimitable Grace Kay.  Grace, welcome to the show.

GRACE: Hey.

DARKWICCAN: Would you like us to call you Grace, or Grace Kay?

GRACE: Grace.

DARKWICCAN: Grace, okay.

DELAYNE: Hi Grace.

DARKWICCAN: Grace, okay.

DELAYNE: Grace okay, Grace Kay okay.

DARKWICCAN:  [in DW’s famous Irish accent] We’ve made you Irish now, you’re Grace O’Kay okay?

[General laughter]

GRACE: My Irish wife would be very happy.

DARKWICCAN: [singing] When Irish eyes are smiling… anyway...

DELAYNE: Well, we’re going on tangents today.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, let’s embrace it right out of the gate.  Grace thank you so much for coming on the show today. This is going to be so much fun.

GRACE: Oh, you’re welcome.  I am absolutely happy to be here.

DARKWICCAN: Well, good, I’m so glad that you don’t feel like you’re forced to be here under duress.  So you’re a very prolific author, I mean you’ve got 45 works on Ao3 alone. Yeah, most of them are in video game fandoms, so I have to ask with all these video games you’ve written about what inspired you to dive into a TV series fandom?

GRACE: Well, you know that’s a really interesting question.  I’ve thought about it every once in a while like, “hey this is a different thing for me.” And I never thought I’d write for a show because kind of the point of the show is that they’re telling you a particular story and it’s that way.  That’s the way that it goes, that’s the way the story goes, it’s not going in any other direction, and most of the games I’ve written for have an element of “Choose Your Own Adventure” sort of to it, like  _ Dragon Age _ you make decisions and then they sort of affect how the gameplay goes.  And that can affect the ending of the game and the next game in the series, and you can choose who to romance and you can choose if you’re a male or female character and all of those things can affect how other characters in the game perceive you.  And that’s what was so fun to play with... 

DARKWICCAN:  Mhmm

GRACE: … sort of like, going down this path but still getting to the sort of zoomed out ending but then zooming in on like the tiny little character interactions, or like romancing a character that the game won’t actually let you romance or, I’ve heard another author call it conversation-porn. 

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

GRACE: [Inaudible] in a game, that’s not what it’s about.  There’s a lot of great stuff but you’re still playing a video game, you don’t want to just sit there and watch two hours of conversation.  But if you’re going after fanfiction then you’re basically saying I want that conversation that I didn’t get. 

DARKWICCAN: Right.

GRACE: And so you go and you write that conversation-porn.  And though I never really thought I would write for a show, no matter how much I loved it because that aspect isn’t really there in the same way, as what attracted me to write for these games.  And then like with many people,  _ Wynonna Earp _ kind of changed that. 

DELAYNE: Do you know why? 

GRACE: I couldn’t exactly tell you why, it could have just been my very first foray into  _ Wynonna Earp _ was while I was unemployed and bored.

DELAYNE: [Laughter] That sounds a plausible reason.

GRACE: [inaudible] or something like that, like everybody else did, and it was just so in my head that I had to get something out and then I published it.  And I was actually really nervous because I’d only watched season one once and one of the things I pride myself on and have been told I do really well is to capture the voice of the characters I’m writing.

DARKWICCAN:  Mhmm. Yeah.

GRACE: I’m told, “I could literally hear that voice actor doing this person’s voice in my head while I’m reading your dialogue.”  But that’s because I’m sinking an embarrassing number of hours into gameplay, [inaudible] conversations on Youtube just to make sure that I’ve got, like you know, that I’m saying this, or writing the words, or doing this syntax, I’m sure there’s all kinds of official english words that I don’t know that I’m doing with these sentences and the way that I’m structuring dialogue or whatever that I just didn’t have down from watching season one once through with characters who weren’t, who were side characters.  You know, who were not the titular character. And so I was really nervous, but like it was really satisfying at the same time. With that particular one I was playing around with first person which is not my usual thing. That was a little bit of a challenge too.

DARKWICCAN: And so that would be the  _ After The Couch _ story that you wrote.

GRACE: Yes.

DARKWICCAN: So yeah, so you decided, “I’ve done the realism, now I’m going to get into the fantasy” and that is what brought about this high school AU  _ Finding Home Again _ .

DELAYNE: Ah, so, my very important question is why the nineties?

GRACE: Well, technically, I mean technically it’s supposed to be after the year 2000...

DELAYNE: Oh, so it’s the early aughts.

GRACE: Around the year 2000.

DELAYNE: Late nineties, early aughts.

GRACE: Yeah, I described it to my wife, “think somewhere between  _ Ten Things I Hate About You _ and  _ Mean Girls _ .”

DARKWICCAN: Okay.

GRACE: Somewhere in between those two.  I’m not setting a hard year, but like somewhere in between there.

DELAYNE: Okay.

GRACE: And basically the inspiration was that’s when I went to high school.

DARKWICCAN: Okay.

GRACE: We did not have… I knew I had no idea what it was like to be a teenager with access to all the things that teenagers have access to now.  I didn’t even see an iPod or know that they existed until I was in college and part of that was because, poor community, nobody had them, part of it was because they just weren’t as widespread.  And now you might ask a twelve year old what an iPod is and they still won’t know because we’re beyond them. Right?

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm, mhmm.

GRACE: So I knew there was no way I could write the struggle of being somewhere between fifteen and eighteen with access to all these things.  Like when I was a teenager, I mean people had cell phones and there was texting but I didn’t. And I was left inside my own head with my own judgement to tell me what I was doing, “okay you’re awkward or whatever.” Like that was all decided by me, I didn’t have access to my friends or the internet or anything like that whenever I wanted, you know, we had a family computer, it was in a public spot, you couldn’t look anything up that was risque on it because your dad would see and I didn’t, I didn’t feel… and then like on top of that...  So one, I didn’t know what it was like to go to high school and be a teenager with access to all that stuff. The second part was just like, it’s been long enough that that period of time could be a period piece at this point. Because like it’s not the sixties, things haven’t changed so much that our language has completely changed, or our modes of transportation or anything like that but, this one thing, this having the internet in your pocket at all times, that’s a huge shift.

DELAYNE: Just today alone the amount of stuff that I looked up…

GRACE: Right, well my daughter, they’re seventeen months old and they want our phones.  They make the things move and they hold it up to their face like they’re talking. They don’t know what they’re doing but like, momma was on the phone all the time, and it’s a constant problem I have to put it away but then at the same time I want to look something up, I want to remind myself about something, or just wanna lose my brain in the internet for five minutes.

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

GRACE: I have no idea what it’s like to be seventeen and to be just coming out of the closet and in a small rural community with a cell phone or an iPhone in my pocket, I really, I couldn’t.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, that really does change the game so much.  And speaking of you coming of age, are there any elements of Nicole’s experiences as a young lesbian that you’ve drawn from personal experience?

GRACE: Um, yes and no.  So have we spoiled… I mean, you know why Nicole’s going to Purgatory in the very first chapter, I’m not spoiling that right?

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, we spoiled that in the first segment.

GRACE: So we know that she was kicked out of her house for being gay.  I was not kicked out of my house for being gay, I actually had a pretty accepting family, my step-dad had to come around a little bit but my mom was… you know when I was six and I asked her what gay meant she told me without any judgement.  You know, she didn’t give me any of this, “oh, it means happy” or whatever. And so, you know, I… I… but I pulled a lot of small experiences from my own experience. I did always feel a little bit out of place, the fact that I wanted to dress more masculinely was a constant thing on my mind, and that’s actually why I made Nicole like, it’s a little thing all the time, it’s just like she’s really aware of the clothes that she’s wearing.  Because I constantly wanted to dress like a boy and I couldn’t, I constantly wanted to grow my hair short and grow taller and not have boobs and whatever else like, just have a little more masculine figure and be able to wear boy’s clothing, especially like clothes looked… I mean, this was the era of the JNCO jeans right? 

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

GRACE: We could fit like five people inside the leg of one pair.  I wanted to look like a boy and I couldn’t and my mom wouldn’t buy me those clothes if I asked for them and it was just like one of those little things that’s constantly on your mind if you want it and you can’t have it.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm.

GRACE: And then, I knew people who’d been kicked out of their house for other things and were finishing out high school living basically on their best friend’s parents good graces.  Like living with them, finishing out high school, and they got kicked out because they had sex with their boyfriend or something, and their dad didn’t like that.

DARKWICCAN:  Right.

GRACE: Stupid, stupid things.  But less, like even stupider because you look at it and you’re like, “but you’re not even gay.”

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, and it’s like, “wait a minute, does that mean being gay would deserve that treatment” and of course the answer is no.

GRACE: No, of course not  So I had a very welcoming home but I did, one of my best friends, that story is actually one of my best friends from high school, she got kicked out because she had the audacity to have sex with her boyfriend, you know like, and so, and then I just try to fit in as much as I can.  I did try to have a couple of gay guy friends who had varying levels of acceptance at home, none of them got kicked out but one of them was on the fence, I think his parents were on the fence about sending him to conversion therapy...

DARKWICCAN: Uhhh….

GRACE: So I had a variety of experiences around me...

DARKWICCAN: What about the high school gossip mill kind of situation?

GRACE: Ugh...

DARKWICCAN:  There we go… [Laughter]

GRACE: Awful Stephanie?  I mean you just, I just remember you hear things, and you can’t confirm or deny any of it but it definitely, I don’t know, it colors how you look at the people around you.  And I remember feeling stared at a lot, before I came out and after I came out. And after I came out at least I felt more comfortable in my own skin, but I was also fifteen and what fifteen year old feels comfortable in their own skin? 

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Right?

GRACE: Like, my solution was to just embrace it and to just sort of very quietly fuck with people but I’m sure that things were said about me, the fact that I had a haven at home really was I think the saving grace.  And Nicole doesn’t have that as much. I mean she has Nedley and he has been as clear as possible that she will always have a home there, but she is, her gut doesn’t understand that yet.

DARKWICCAN: Right.

GRACE: So the fact that people are staring and looking, my response was, “okay, I’m gonna stop shaving my legs, and I’m gonna get dreadlocks, and I’m gonna wear clothes from Hot Topic.  (You know, Hot Topic wasn’t super mainstream). And I was gonna have ears full of piercings and I’m gonna have straight A’s and fuck all of you”. And I apologise if I’m not allowed to swear.

DARKWICCAN: You’re allowed to swear.

GRACE: Cool.  [inaudible] that’s fine, Nicole doesn’t have that, so while I think she, what I’m trying to walk the line of is her wanting to say, “fuck all of you I don’t give a shit” but at the same time she’s very aware of eyeballs on her.

DELAYNE: I want to know, back to the supernatural part, did you plan the supernatural twist from the start?

GRACE: Sort of.

DARKWICCAN:  [Laughter]

DELAYNE: That’s the best answer.

GRACE: I was, um, so the friend of mine that got me into  _ Wynonna Earp _ , she’s one of those fic friends that you’ve never met in real life but like, we’re friends on all the social media, we’ve been talking to each other for eight years or something like that right? 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, yeah

GRACE: She, and it’s a lot of fun too, ‘cause sometimes she has to be like, because she lives in the UK, “um, what is this thing?” And I’m like, “oh, okay, I’m American, I will explain to you.”  And [inaudible] show was in Canada and I’m like, “okay, what is this thing? I think it’s a holdover from the British Empire.” And she’s like, “yes, it is.” So she got me into the show and then I was spitballing with her like, “I could totally write like a country high school AU” but then I was like I don’t actually care about high school all that much so uh, not that I don’t care about it, I’m just not there anymore.

DELAYNE: You’re not in it.  

GRACE: My experiences are those of a mother, but of very small children, so I don’t. “Stop sticking your hand in your diaper”, not like “stop being an idiot with your friends.”

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, “stop putting your hand in your pants for an entirely different, far more adult reason.”

DELAYNE:  [Laughter]

GRACE: Yeah, so I’m not there on either side.  I’m not a teenager and I’m not the parent of a teenager yet.  So I didn’t really want it to just be high school drama, and there’s a place for that, people need that, and I don’t.  I don’t need it so I don’t seek it out and I don’t need to write it. But I did like the idea of playing with whatever’s going on with Nicole but then I wanted them to deal with something else that puts this into perspective.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm.

GRACE: Not that this isn’t a big deal, but if you’re forced to deal with something even bigger then it does put it into perspective.  No matter how young or old you are. So I was like, so there needs to be like a werewolf or something. And my friend is the best enabler and was like, “yes, and then this, and they’re freaked out, and Nicole saves the day, and YES”. You know [inaudible] and it kind of spiralled from there.  At first I did think a werewolf, and then I actually started coming up with some lore around it.

DARKWICCAN:  What inspired, or is that what helped inspire your concept of the witches coven gone sideways?

GRACE: Uh, a little bit.  I, okay, admittedly my memories are a little bit hazy about how all of this worked, because it was a lot of like those conversations, so my, that friend is a really good idea bouncer.  And she’ll just take what you give her and run with it. And then that always, the littlest thing can spark the biggest idea for me, and so at some point I was just, well, we’ve got a Stone Witch, we’ve got an Iron Witch, and we’ve got the Blacksmith who was a witch, I don’t know anything about covens but I think there was something in  _ The Craft _ about there being four of them...

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: For the compass points and for all the elements yeah.

GRACE: Right, three is important in Christian mythology and I think four is important outside of Christian mythology, something there, what if this werewolf is their mom, holy shit, what if she’s a...  okay. [Inaudible] fourth witch, that throws a lot of fun possible interactions and keep in mind this was well before we saw any of season three so I did not know who Mama Earp was. And once we met her I was like, “oh, this works”.

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

GRACE: And so I was like, okay so we’re gonna have this have happened and we’re gonna have one of the members of the coven sort of betray the others and here’s the problem to solve, and well, I can let you all know that the outline has changed since then.  It’s not the only problem that’s going to be solved.

DARKWICCAN: Oooh, rubbing my hands together in anticipatory glee, excellent.

DELAYNE: So you mentioned that you have a friend that you bounce ideas off of, and in the first chapter you’ve clearly stated “hey, I don’t have a beta”, but by chapter three you’re, “hey, I have a beta!”  So, you know, how did your writing process change once you did get connected with a beta.

GRACE: So I had two people in mind to beta this from the beginning, I just needed to clarify the ideas before I pitched it to them and we’re all busy adult people, right?  So I, the biggest thing a beta does for me, yes they catch mistakes, they catch big glaring mistakes, they catch small mistakes, they word things better, all those things that an editor would do.  But the biggest thing that my betas do for me is that I really need a bounce backboard. I need a person to bounce ideas off of and to help me refine them and to gauge whether my crazy idea makes any sense whatsoever and to ask me clarifying questions and things like that.  And so I’d say the biggest thing that a beta does on any project, but especially this one because so much of it is original, is for me to just, you know, in Twitter or Facebook or whatever go in to chat and say “hey, are you available, do you have a minute I came up with an idea and I wanna run it by you”.  And then, from there, and what’s beautiful about it is I can go back and scroll through and be like, “okay, what did we say?” You know, [inaudible] right now, and then I’ll incorporate it into my outline. So I’d say for me that is the most important thing about having a beta and that’s the biggest thing that changed, certainly with this project, was being able to run things by somebody, and really two people.  It’s Mischieftess and Deathrae and then my British friend is Diablocadies [ph] she doesn’t write a lot but she does write some on Ao3 but you know, she’s busy, she’s graduated and she’s getting married and stuff. She’s got a lot going on.

DELAYNE: Stupid adulting

GRACE: So she, I also run ideas by her still “so things changed a lot, let me tell you how” and she’s like “woah”, and has the same level of enthusiasm and it’s really nice.

DARKWICCAN: Oh, it’s so much fun when you have an enthusiastic beta that like you say you can just bounce ideas off because then you both get yourselves really excited, you say “oh, wait, then this could happen, oh my god that’s incredible, and then this could happen, yeah!”

GRACE: I think the most fun, I’m just going to call her Mischief because her screen name is really hard to pronounce...

DARKWICCAN: Fair enough, fair enough.

DELAYNE: Usually how I refer...

GRACE: She’s like my bestie, we used to live in the same state, we would make sure to see each other once a month like fully spend a night in each other’s beds because there’s no other place to sleep.  We were just far enough away that we were like, “if this friendship is going to work we have to make an effort to see each other.” And so she still does, now that she lives in another state, so she came and visited us this summer and stayed with us for a week.  It was really cute she got to a point where my daughters would just crawl on her lap.

DARKWICCAN: Aww.

GRACE: And so, but we would go out to dinner and just go do stuff, after my daughters were in bed, and we would fully sit there eating sushi and losing our minds in person over fandom stuff and over me bouncing ideas back and forth and that live face-to-face idea bouncing is the most satisfying thing.  Because I keep a lot of this shit under wraps, nobody at work, most of my friends don’t know that I do this. Because there is that sort of stigma about fic and I do have a professional life and I try to keep this stuff under wraps. Especially the erotica!

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah.

GRACE: That element too right?  Um, and so it’s really satisfying to be able to talk to you guys, to be able to talk about it on Twitter, but like Twitter is… I try to keep it anonymous without keeping it impersonal.

DARKWICCAN: Right.

GRACE: Right, and like, um, and just having her here and being able to talk about this stuff in person, it’s so satisfying.  

DARKWICCAN: That’s awesome.  So speaking of ideas, and getting ideas, and bouncing ideas, I have some ideas and they’re probably completely wrong and way off.

GRACE: Okay.

DARKWICCAN: But some parts of this story just remind me, in the absolute best nostalgic way, of the late nineties, mid to late nineties Nickelodeon series  _ Are You Afraid Of the Dark?  _  And I just, I’m just wondering, is it just me?  Is that totally just me? Or did I manage to accidentally hit on a piece of like period specific...

GRACE: You know, I never quite realised it but yes... 

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN:  [Cheering] Oh yeah!

GRACE: I was a religious, okay it was SNICK. 

DELAYNE: Nick at Night.

GRACE: I religiously watched those shows, I don’t even remember.  I think one of them was like  _ Clarissa Explains It All _ ...

DARKWICCAN: Oh yes.   _ Roundhouse _ and…

GRACE: Oh my God.  This is why I wrote this fic, this fuckin’ nostalgia man.  So, you’re absolutely right, I loved that show, it was like a slightly more adult, not adult but like a more adult version of  _ Goosebumps _ ?

DELAYNE: It made you feel more adult to watch it.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.

GRACE: Like  _ Goosebumps _ for slightly older kids.  Right?

DARKWICCAN: Yes.

GRACE: And now that you mention it, I still remember some elements of some of the stories that they told each other on that show.

DARKWICCAN:  Oh me too.

GRACE: So this was not, this is not an inaccurate observation

DARKWICCAN: Yes!

GRACE: I think you’re right.  I think that without realising it… absolutely.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, I’m so proud of myself right now.  I’m sorry, what’s that Delayne?

DELAYNE: Score points for DW.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah!  I don’t know about you.  I still have the occasional, like once every three to five years I’ll still have the occasional nightmare about Zeebo the clown from that damn show

GRACE: What I remember the most, there was some kind of spirit or something, that lived in the fire or the flame.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes.

GRACE: And it would purposely burn your house down or some shit like that?  And that was just… that, and then sometimes I remember the reboot of the Twilight Zone that happened around the same time, like I’ll remember some of those stories.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, me too, me too.  Yeah, but uh, oh man I’m so proud of myself

GRACE: You absolutely should be.  You’re totally right.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, well Grace, this has been so much fun reminiscing with you, and getting nostalgic about the late nineties, early aughts and chatting about your incredible, wonderful, unique and creative work  _ Finding Home Again _ .  Thank you so much for making time out of your incredibly busy schedule.  Like you say, you’ve got two very young daughters that you’re caring for as well as working a full time job and writing so I’m just thrilled that you, you’re like “yeah, I’ll come on and chat with you guys”, this has been great.

GRACE: Yeah, I’m happy to be here.  I’m flattered and I am having a lot of fun.

DARKWICCAN: Awesome.  Well as you know then, we have one more question that we have to ask before we can let you go and get back to domesticity.

GRACE: Okay.

DELAYNE: Alright, so you are stranded on a desert island and can have only one fanfic to read, what is it?

GRACE: Okay, so, I’m gonna go with the  _ Dark Energy _ series by Melara Dark.  It’s in the  _ Mass Effect _ fandom, it’s on Fanfic.net and it’s like, god all told, it’s at least six fics altogether.  So it’s the three games, plus she basically took the last game, I don’t know how much you guys know about  _ Mass Effect _ ?  But the ending of  _ Mass Effect 3  _ was a complete clusterfuck, like, somebody sued Bioware over it, for false advertising.  It was a thing. It was a thing. So a lot of fics out there fix the end. There’s a lot of fix-it fics.  Because it was this huge build up to like [blows a raspberry]

GRACE: So 98% of the series is fantastic, and then they just, I think either they thought the ending was gonna be bigger than it was, or they did the thing that fic authors do a lot which is just they’re writing, they’re writing, they’re like, “yeah, the ends gonna be great, shit what is it?”

DARKWICCAN: [Laughter]

DELAYNE: I have a deadline, people want to hear it, let’s just finish this and call it good.

DARKWICCAN: So leave it to actual fic authors to come in and correct that mistake.

GRACE: Right, and boy did she.  She basically took three more fics to fix the whole thing  Three more stories, 100,000 word stories, or more.

DARKWICCAN: Nice.

GRACE: So, that would keep me busy for a while, and it’s just so good, it’s written so well, she is an author, she has other original stuff published, and the characters are really great, she throws in some new stuff, some new characters, fun takes on existing characters, it’s good stuff.

DARKWICCAN:  Awesome, so that is the  _ Dark Energy _ series by Melara Dark.

GRACE: Yes and [inaudible] has an AU that ties in, like with the multiverse theory, that ties in to the last fic in the series.

 

DELAYNE: [Laughter]

DARKWICCAN: That’s awesome, so we’ll definitely be providing a link to that series so our listeners can check it out whether they’re  _ Mass Effect  _ fans or not.  I’m sure that sounds like a lot of fun for people to give it a read.  Again that’s the  _ Dark Energy _ series by Malara Dark.  Well Grace thank you again for coming on the show today and I am so excited to see what happens next in  _ Finding Home Again _ .

GRACE: Alright.

 

And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.   
  
Tremendous thanks to Grace Kay for coming on the show to chat about her fic 'Finding Home Again'.   
  
Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro and    
  
Background music for the episode was:   
  
A Proper Story and Quest for Honor by Darren Korb   
  
Summer (Tropicala) BY Erik Barone

 

Quest for Honor by Darren Korb   
  
and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan   
  
  
If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast.    
  
And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.   
  
And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.   
  
  
Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
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> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	13. Ain't That a Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Growin’ up’s hard enough without being a werebeast on top of it all. This week on the show DarkWiccan and Laragh discuss the fantastic coming-of-age-with-a-twist fic ‘this old house’, and then sit down with author coldmackerel to have a jaw about it.

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/aint-that-a-thing)

 

Read the Fic!

[this old house](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14829281) by coldmackerel

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://youreavision.tumblr.com/)

 

coldmackerel’s Desert Island fic: [Get Lost](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7824859) by sensitivepigeon 

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [MrsBlueBacon](https://twitter.com/MrsBlueBacon)

 

EFA Episode 213- Ain’t That a Thing

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy and welcome everybody to this week’s episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host DarkWiccan, and with me is my delightful cohost-

 

LARAGH : It’s Laragh.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s Laragh.

 

LARAGH : Yay.

 

DARKWICCAN : Laragh, is here with me this week. Yay. [sing song voice]

 

LARAGH : Delayne isn’t here, and that always makes me sad.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, but ya know what, Delayne is currently doing good works, within the Earper...

 

LARAGH : She is doing great works.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, she is. She is teaming up with the Southern California Earpers, SoCal Earpers, and they are helping at a soup kitchen. Because that’s right folks. For us, it is still 2018.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You are listening to this in the future [pretend echo] [laughter], so yeah, she is volunteering in a soup kitchen today with the Southern California Earpers, so Laragh graciously said she would step in. And uh, ya know, I do love having you on the show, Laragh, ‘cause I could listen to you speak all day long.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Thank you, I think.

 

DARKWICCAN : No, it’s a compliment. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] I don’t know if I like it any better as a compliment.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, then it’s an insult. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Thank you, I’m far more happy with that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, alright. [laughter] Oh, man, so let’s see, what’s going on in the world. [CONTENT CENSORED. VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]  Let’s talk about why we’re really here today.

 

LARAGH : I am just so excited.

 

DARKWICCAN : Weeeee. [excited sound] Today we are talking about the immensely fantastically wonderful story, “this old house” by coldmackerel.

 

LARAGH : Oh my lord. Where do we even begin?

 

DARKWICCAN : Where do we begin? This story is so incredible. I fell in love with it within the first line. Not even the first line. I fell in love with it reading the summary.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Yes. I remember, I remember because you came on to messenger to me straight away and you were like just quoting me. You were just sending me quotes.

 

DARKWICCAN : I was literally just sending you quotes. Like “you have to read this because of these sentences happen.” [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Exactly, and it is that kind, like we could just sit here and exchange quotes back and forth for the entire segment and we would not run out of material.

 

DARKWICCAN : We absolutely wouldn’t, but ya know what though, that might ruin it for people who haven’t read it yet.

 

LARAGH : No, I know, but that’s how quotable it is.

 

DARKWICCAN : That is. That’s true. It is absolutely imminently quotable, almost every single line is a quote that you can take and embroider onto a pillow or something. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : If you want. If that’s your thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : If you want to. If that’s your thing. Maybe we should call up Nuutmeg. See if...[ [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Oh my god. [laughter] I want “chickens don’t have no sense of hypocrisy” on a little thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Absolutely. “Chickens don’t have no sense of hypocrisy”. [laughter] That’s just one of the thousands [laughter] of quotable quotes in this story.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So [laughter] where do we start? Let’s start with the premise.

 

LARAGH : The premise.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, the premise is this is a non-sexy werewolf story.

 

LARAGH : Right. That’s very important.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Yeah and that doesn’t spoil anything because that is in the summary. It, well, it’s not in the summary, but it’s in the initial like one note that I couldn’t avoid reading ‘cause it’s like right there. [laughter] That this i , and also it’s in a tag “non-sexy werewolf”.

 

LARAGH : The tags, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, so know that that’s not a spoiler. I just love the idea of writing a non-sexy werewolf story.

 

LARAGH : Me too, me too. I just think it’s a new take on the whole werewolf lore thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely, and so many, and I don’t mean this in a bad way at all, let me preface, but so many of the werewolf stories within the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fic fandom are rooted in A B O, alpha beta omega, dynamics and there’s nothing wrong with that. I actually, myself, with, ya know, really do enjoy the A B O stories, within the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom because authors within the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom tackle that dynamic far more uniquely and I think gently than other fandoms do.

 

LARAGH : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, it’s completely different. In fact, we did a whole episode on A B O dynamics in our first season in episode four. So, you can kinda, if you’re curious about it, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can check that out, but this completely detaches from that dynamic entirely, it’s not even a thought at all, and it truly is a non-sexy werewolf story. And it is Nicole because coldmackerel has taken that kind of oft used notion of Nicole as a werewolf, and, so it is Nicole as a werewolf, but when she transforms into a werewolf, she’s, it, it ain’t pretty. [laughter] Like, it ain’t  _ Twilight _ . [laughter

 

LARAGH : There ain’t no sparkles here.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nope. Nope. And this isn’t a werewolf you’d wanna sleep with. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : No.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, I do enjoy, I really like that, that that’s the premise. It’s a non-sexy werewolf story.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, what I really love about this fic is how, not to overuse, but how unique a premise it is.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

LARAGH : Because I think most AUs will ask us, or set us up like “what will Nicole be like if she was a basketball player? What would Nicole be like if she was raised in a cult? Or what would Nicole be like if she was a ranch hand?” or whatever, but this asks us “what would Nicole be like if her parents were…” Oh, I can’t, I don’t wanna spoil it, but what would happen if Nicole was basically turned into a werewolf in these very specific circumstances and how she would adjust back into normal life alongside that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, uh, yeah, and again, I don’t think it’s particularly spoilery to kind of give up some of the stuff that happens in the first chapter. Um, because that’s just our jumping off point and it doesn’t really, ya know, ruin the rest of the storytelling. In my opinion. So, I’m gonna dive in just a little bit, unless you have reservations.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm. Of course. No, no. Go ahead.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, so, essentially Nicole and her family are travelling through Canada, and they’re attacked. We don’t really know the details beyond that fact that they were attacked, her parents did not survive, Nicole was bitten and got away, and then essentially lives as a feral werewolf in the woods for how many years?

 

LARAGH : Uh, I wanna say at least two.

 

DARKWICCAN : At least two years, yeah.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Wow. She manages to survive using her ten year old wit, essentially. And is in an incredibly dire and traumatic, and really unprecedented and weird situation where she is surviving in the woods off of, she doesn’t wanna kill anything, uh, despite the fact that she is fully capable of doing so, so she lives off of roadkill.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, so she’s surviving on roadkill, and she’s, she’s, she’s in the desert alone and she doesn’t even distinguish anymore about when she’s turned into the beast at the full moon and when she isn’t. It’s just all, she’s like a monster every day of the month, regardless of where the moon is or whether she’s actually turned or not.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Mhmm.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, so she survives like that for a long, long time.

 

DARKWICCAN : Gettin’ to know the other animals of the woods and the desert areas, and she, one day, sort of stumbles across the Earp homestead.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, in the process, stumbles across a young Waverly.

 

LARAGH : Right, Waverly is eight, I think, at the time.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. Yeah. And, Waverly is not afraid of Nicole.

 

LARAGH : No, she calls her “my monster”, which is...

 

DARKWICCAN : She calls her, which is adorable, yes. [laughter] And, so that is our first connection there, and of course, Waverly’s Dad doesn’t see that Nicole isn’t, doesn’t see that Nicole is a good monster. He just sees a monster.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, uh, thus begins the...

 

LARAGH : The connection?

 

DARKWICCAN : The yeah, there we go. Thus begins the connection between Waverly and Nicole that will follow them for the rest of their lives, or throughout the rest of the story. Uh, some other stuff happens. In that initial meeting with Waverly and Waverly’s Dad, that I don’t wanna really give away, but I will say that Nicole just doesn’t have a whole lotta luck when it comes to avoiding injury.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Understatement, but yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah [laughter], and eventually uh, Nicole is picked up by Randy Nedley, who takes her in and they kind of grow up together. Well, Randy is an adult, he’s the sheriff, but he takes Nicole in and essentially adopts her, if not legally, and uh, really doesn’t ask too many questions about where she came from or what she’s been through. Just sort of takes her as she is and takes her under his wing, and slowly helps her to shed her everyday monster uh, personality and have her be a bit more of a human on the days when she can be more of a human. Uh, so, and that is just that father-daughter relationship between the two of them is probably one of the best examples of a Nedley-Nicole father-daughter relationship that I’ve ever seen.

 

LARAGH : Oh my god, it’s fantastic. It’s, it’s, it’s, it’s so understated, but so touching.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, I just. It’s like, it’s probably, easily, by far, ya know obviously apart from WayHaught, the best relationship in the entire fic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Oh, hands down.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah, yeah. Absolutely, and one thing, stepping away from that, just kind of a little bit, one thing I wanna talk about in this story, is the author’s voice. The narrator’s voice is so exceptional, and so singular. It is probably one of the most novel voices I have ever read, and I love it so much.

 

LARAGH : And so consistent.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s so consistent.

 

LARAGH : For someone who is not writing from, like, that is not their voice, this is a voice they’ve created.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. Yeah. It’s a distinctly, I call it a southern fried sound, ‘cause...

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. It’s not, it’s not...

 

LARAGH : It’s like southern apathy or something. It’s just...

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, and it’s not clearly specific regional sound either, uh, it’s just sort of a southern fried sound, and I love how, and it’s Nicole’s voice, so we sort of gleen the idea that Nicole and her family are originally from the American south, and that, [laughter] I don’t know what more to say about this except it’s the greatest thing I’ve ever read in my life. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It reminds me so much of like, if Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain, like, teamed up and wrote something together. This is kind of what it, might come out of that, uh, collaboration. Is just...

 

LARAGH : I can see that, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah?

 

LARAGH : With a little bit of  _ Wynonna Earp _ cray [sic] in there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, uh, but the very sort of simple sentence structure and rye-dry humor of Vonnegut coupled with the uh, vivid storytelling style and southern colloquialisms of Mark Twain just kind of mushed together to create this kind of brand new, completely unique, unparalleled voice.

 

LARAGH : Right. Right, I think absolutely. And like we said, it’s just so quotable, and even just you naming those people, I can think of so many quotes that fit in with that theme and that kind of general feeling, and it’s not just humor or good storytelling. It hits you in the gut sometimes as well. Ya know it’s, it’s, it’s just like, they’ll be lines, they’ll be joking around and suddenly they’ll be a stray line and it’s just like “woah” that hits you with a truth bomb right there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. Like, what, like I’ve just got the first chapter pulled up and the first thing I came across was “Twelve years old and admittin’ to yourself that roadkill wasn’t all that bad.”

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know. “Possum wasn’t so bad anyhow. Well, it was, but so was dyin’.” Ya know, just like...

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...quotable, quotable, quotable, quotable lines.

 

LARAGH : There was one particular line that like I remember perfectly because I thought, it just hit me so well, was like, Nicole was thinking “that’s a thing in high school was about killing as many parts of yourself as you could live with until every group gathering was like standing in a funhouse mirror of sameness”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

LARAGH : And I’m like, that’s so, that’s so vivid and poignant and it’s delivered with such, just, kind of, Nicole’s blasé attitude in the context of the fic, and it’s just so good. It’s just so good, DW.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is so good.

 

LARAGH : It’s just so good.

 

DARKWICCAN : I know, we’re just gonna sit here and fangirl for the next fifteen minutes, and just completely say over and over again how amazingly good this fic is. [laughter] It’s so amazing. It’s just so good. I, I love that it is so, I mean, the voice is so strong and so clear, and it’s got a strong, clear direction as well. It is brilliantly plotted, from beginning to end. And, it just gives you the feeling that this author came into it knowing who they are and what they wanted to do and where they wanted to go with the story.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, I think so. I think it’s arc is just super clean, like a perfect rainbow.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. [laughter] And I love all of the adjustments that coldmackerel’s made to each character, while still keeping them, again, and I talk about this all the time. Still keeping them true to who they are at their core.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know, what they’re like in canon, taking those core characteristics and holding onto them, but still creating these unique characters, um, to tell the story, and...

 

LARAGH : Right, like you mentioned, little Nicole doesn’t kill anything when she’s turned, when she’s in the desert, so ya know, that speaks to the Nicole we know, the nobility in her. She wouldn’t kill someone, and even after being turned into a monster, she still won’t purposefully kill someone for her own gain.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, because she holds onto her mind, for the most part.

 

LARAGH : Yes. Yeah, she, she, I think, I think even when she’s at her most despair, when she feels like she’s a monster twenty-four seven, she still has her own integral, I suppose, she still has her soul, I guess.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it’s like, it’s almost like she may be a monster, but she won’t become a monster.

 

LARAGH : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and [snicker] oh god, this story is so good. [laughter] This is gonna be the most boring...

 

LARAGH : [laughter] I keep trying to say something, and I’m like my words don’t give this justice. I can’t speak to this, it’s too good. It’s too good for my words.

 

DARKWICCAN : I know exactly what you’re saying. That’s the exact same struggle that I’m having. I wanna do justice to this story so badly, but I feel like I’m not worthy of it. Like, that’s how amazing it is. Like, who am I to talk about this master’s work. Ya know.

 

LARAGH : It’s just sublime.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is. It is. And, all of the kind of, character beats and plot beats and things that uh, coldmackerel’s built up to and then away from as the story’s progressing. Everything adds up to this beautifully told, well structured, completely satisfying, if you can’t tell, storyarc that’s being told, and I love that within the overall arc you, of course, have the budding romance over time between Nicole and Waverly, and I just loved reading coldmackerel’s take on them as children, then maturing into homogenous teenagers and then [laughter]. Which, of course, Nicole could never be homogenized, and then as adults and transitioning into adulthood and how their relationship with each other changes once that point hits and it just felt really earned. It didn’t feel forced, it didn’t feel unnecessarily protracted, it just, everything made sense in the time that it was happening in.

 

LARAGH : And I really liked, as well, that we got to see their friendship build without um, usually in these kind of fics sometimes Nicole will know she’s in love or attracted to Waverly, and we’re kind of seeing a friendship build with a background of one of them, usually Nicole, having feelings.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

LARAGH : Where as this one, she doesn’t really realize until later on. They have an entire friendship before, connection, before Nicole even realizes she’s in love with her. So, I mean...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

LARAGH : ...I think she still is in love with her, but it’s not pining.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right.

 

LARAGH : It’s just, it’s a genuine connection that’s built between them.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Yeah. Yes, and, and separate from, stepping away from that and just talking about Nicole and her relationship to humanity, and her relationship to society. I love the way that so often, Nicole was the most human of the uh, non-monster, ya know, protagonists around them, as well as the most human of the, not protagonist, antagonist, uh, and the most human of the monster antagonists as well. Um, I also really enjoyed how she realized that she couldn’t really fit in with what the expectations were.

 

LARAGH : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, she didn’t. She just made her own path. [laughter] And I love, there’s a moment where, to me, it was very  _ Forrest Gump _ , where...

 

LARAGH : Ok, I see that. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know what I’m talkin’ about? Where Nicole is discovered to have a knack for running because she’s got incredible stamina for running, and so she’s running and she has to be told to stop. [laughter] She’ll just keep going.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : They had to send somebody after her to stop her running. [laughter] ‘Cause she didn’t understand, like, she didn’t understand the notion of a track.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I just thought that was great.

 

LARAGH : That was really, yeah, that was funny.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I also loved, ya know, Nicole’s perspective on, on being stuck in school and being expected to learn these, ya know, things in school that she knows she’s never gonna need and doesn’t understand that practicality of knowing them. Like, why would she need to know these things, they’re not practical in everyday life.

 

LARAGH : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Like, she says she might be stupid, but she’s not dumb.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly.

 

LARAGH : That kind of sums up her attitude towards school.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, precisely. Uh, and I also, ya know, Wynonna, of course, is around here and there, and um, has a sort of early friendship with Nicole and that’s also a lot of fun to see. It’s just, guys, if you can’t tell [laughter] we can’t stop gushing about this story because it is absolutely immense and brilliant and everyone should read this story.

 

LARAGH : It’s so good. There’s details brought back from early chapters in late chapters. This, this, this fic is like publishable.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is!

 

LARAGH : If it wanted to be published. It’s entirely publishable. I think.

 

DARKWICCAN : Completely. coldmackerel’s could absolutely change all the names to protect the innocent and publish it.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it is, it is fantastic. And it is novel length. I mean, it’s a novel length work.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think it, what, clocks in at ninety plus thousand words. Something like that.

 

LARAGH : It’s close to a hundred K, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Close to a hundred thousand words, yeah, yeah. Easily could be uh, yeah names could be changed and location name changed and totally [laughter] could be published. I mean, it is so good. I hope that they don’t, though because...

 

LARAGH : Right ‘cause we don’t...

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that would mean it would have to be taken down off the site. I’m like “no, no don’t do that. It’s so good I want this for me. Don’t take this away from me. Out of my cold dead hands you can have this story.”

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But no, this story is so amazing, I actually it to my Dad to read, and my Dad is a professional writer.

 

LARAGH : Oh, wow.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I’m like “Dad, you have to read this story. I know it’s fanfiction, but this, it’s, it’s, it’s, this is the caliber that we’re seeing in fanfiction right now. You have to read this story.” Has he read it yet? No, but he will, and I’m on his case about it. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : I love that you can share fanfiction with your Dad.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Well, ya know, he’s a cool dude. [laughter] Uh, but yeah, and speaking of sharing, ok, I think we have shared our love for the story enough. You guys get it. You listeners understand that we are over the moon for this story. Um, we have told you, we have sung our song, we have evangelicized [ph], we have, or we have evangelized, we have spread the good word. Now, let’s get some words from the actual author.

 

LARAGH : I don’t know if I can get through this without fangirling.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, if we can’t get through it, then we’ll just have to fangirl for a minute. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : For a minute or thirty.

 

DARKWICCAN : For a minute or thirty we’ll just have to fangirl. I’m sure they’ll be fine, and uh, so yeah, so our second segment today, we will be chatting with coldmackerel about this immense story, “this old house”. [CONTENT CENSORED. VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

MUSIC : It’s a Treasure Box by Shinichi Sakamoto

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me still, is my fantastic cohost-

 

LARAGH : It’s Laragh.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are so excited to have with us today the author of the incredible AU fic we were talking about in the first half of the show, “this old house”, coldmackerel, who would like us to call her Indigo today. So, Indigo, welcome to the show.

 

INDIGO : Hey, thanks guys. Thanks for having me on.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey, we are so excited, uh, about having you on. Laragh and I were talking earlier about the fact that there is a very high possibility of fangirling coming from us both.

 

INDIGO : Oh dear.

 

LARAGH : Very high.

 

INDIGO : That won’t be tolerated. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So high. It won’t be tolerated? Oh dear. Ok.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : [unintelligible under DarkWiccan]

 

DARKWICCAN : We better dial it, dial it down hard. Dial it down. We’re gonna treat this incredibly serious. It’s gonna be like “60 Minutes”. Dry. Just totally dry interviewing.

 

INDIGO : I mean...

 

DARKWICCAN : No problem. I’m gonna channel my inner Morley Safer. We got this.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I mean, my story was ninety thousand words of dry, so it’s gonna be the next thirty minutes.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Uh, that explains why it left me so thirsty at the end.

 

INDIGO : Ah.

 

LARAGH : Girl.

 

INDIGO : I see what you did there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey-o. [laughter] Before we dive into chatting about your fantastic story, which we just spent a good, solid thirty minutes gushing about...

 

INDIGO : Oh good.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...in the first segment, uh, I gotta know, you are such a terrific author, what got you into fanfiction?

 

INDIGO : Um, being a huge dork. Like the rest of us.

 

DARKWICCAN : Fair. Yeah, I can relate to that. Ok.

 

INDIGO : [unintelligible said under DarkWiccan] Uh, no, ya know what it was? I come from a long line of dorks. That’s it. That’s what it was. No, I uh, I’m not a writer by trade. I have zero training. I went to school for criminal justice, which isn’t even a real degree, so. I’m not even a real person, actually. Um...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re a figment. You’re a figment of our imaginations, is that what you’re saying?

 

INDIGO : It’s true. It’s true. I mean, I tried to convince people I was a ‘bot on Twitter, but I don’t know how well that went.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] You tried to convince people that you were a ‘bot?

 

INDIGO : Yeah. I feel like I could pull that off. I feel like I sound like one sometimes, but ya know, honestly, one day I was like “what if I tried writing?” And I just...I won’t implicate myself by saying the fandom because I feel like I’m a little embarrassed by it now, so, ya know. You can go hunt that out, if you so choose, but uh, yeah, no, I just sat down and wrote, I think it was like ninety-three thousand word story, the first time I ever wrote something, and...

 

DARKWICCAN : You just sat down and cracked out a full novel-length work.

 

INDIGO : I know. It sounds so easy....

 

DARKWICCAN : Right out of the gate.

 

INDIGO : ...when I say it that way. It sounds so easy when I say it that way. It was not that easy, but I just, I don’t know, I was feelin’ it. I was like “ya know what, this is kinda fun.” I have zero formal training, and I think it really shows, but ya know what? I’ve read a lot of fanfiction that I was like “I think we need more people who know nothing about anything to write stuff.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, no, I completely agree with you there. There’s something about writing where the quality is still high, but they’re not being held back by any quote rules.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, that they think they have to follow that have been doled into them by whatever experience or training or what-have-you they’ve had in the past. So, I totally, totally onboard with you there, for sure.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, what drew you to uh,  _ Wynonna Earp _ ?

 

INDIGO : Well, I mean, the same thing I assume drives everyone there, in which I am a lesbian. [laughter] I’m assuming that’s the root of that. Uh, I, as most people do, I got my start in the  _ 100 _ fandom, which is, looking back on that, I’m like “wow, they did us so dirty, like why would I start there?” But...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : ...it’s much too late now, so yeah, that’s where I started.

 

DARKWICCAN : Was the  _ 100 _ fandom your first experience in a fandom?

 

INDIGO : It’s the first one I’m willing to own up to. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Fair.

 

INDIGO : There’s things you can live with, and things you can only live with if nobody knows.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, yeah, there are those extra guilty...yeah.

 

LARAGH : That’s very true.

 

INDIGO : Also, I just really like cowboys, let’s be real.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, fair.

 

LARAGH : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. So, you moved to  _ Wynonna Earp _ with the great mass exodus, the gay...

 

LARAGH : Migration.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...wave essentially.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, the great migration. That’s...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

INDIGO : That was, honestly, I just saw everyone who I was friends with who use to be into one thing was suddenly like “it’s dead to me now, try  _ Wynonna Earp _ ” and I was like “oh, ok, cool.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Bonus for the cowboys.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I think there’s only so many dead lesbians you can take before you just kind of rage quit and move on, and I think that because, and not to deviate this  _ Wynonna Earp _ podcast off onto the  _ 100 _ , ‘cause I will admit, I actually never watched it, uh, but what, my wife did, but what it seems like is that it was soooo [drawn out] trope-y and soooo [drawn out] cliche, and almost a perfect echo of stuff that had happened like on  _ Buffy the Vampire Slayer _ , that...

 

LARAGH : Ugh.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...immediately people just, like, ripped their garments, and pulled out their hair and left.

 

INDIGO : No, that’s fair. That’s very fair, but ya know what, I feel like sometimes I look back and I’m like “how can I ever like that? How did I let that do it for me?” But like, what other options did I have? It’s like...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah.

 

INDIGO : I wanna be down, not that I’m bashing any particular fandoms, I mean, there’s good stuff in all shows, that, I mean, there’s things that draw people to it, but, I’m thinking in particular like  _ Supergirl _ , sometimes I’m sitting there like “how do you let them do that to you constantly and still watch it?”

 

DARKWICCAN : Why am I here?

 

INDIGO : Right. Why do you still hope...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

INDIGO : ...for good things to happen, or the thing you want to happen, happen, ‘cause they’re not gonna do it for you. But I feel like we have so few options. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, no, I completely get you. And I feel like uh, shows like  _ Wynonna Earp _ , we’re finally getting the representation that we deserve, like in a good positive, healthy way, not to say that there isn’t drama, within storylines, because you need drama in order to drive a plot forward, and that’s fine. But we’re getting genuine, supportive, honest representation, and so that sour all of the, sort of, queer bait, um, rep that we’ve just sort of clung to, up until this point because we didn’t really have anything better. Like there was no better. So, now we have better, we look back at the crap, and we’re like “woah.”

 

INDIGO : No, I would agree, bit time. I uh...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

INDIGO : ...Yeah, I mean, we’ve been done wrong so many times.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, we have been done wrong. We’ve been done so wrong.

 

INDIGO : And the funny thing is, there’s media out there, but from, at least from my point of view, I don’t necessarily want media that’s about being gay. I would like it to be about something else and there happens to be gay people.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right. Yeah. Exactly.

 

LARAGH : Right.

 

INDIGO : And I think that’s even more limited, which I think is what I appreciate about  _ Wynonna Earp _ . That it’s not really about that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, totally.

 

INDIGO : Like, they’re very clear on it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

INDIGO : Ya know, they don’t hint at it, but, ya know, it’s about something else, ultimately.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, yeah, no I’m completely with you there. Uh, so, shifting gears a bit, to your story, which we are, arguably, here to chat about.

 

INDIGO : Oh, that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That old chestnut.

 

INDIGO : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] This, it is such a unique and fantastic and exciting piece, just because the voice is so unlike anything I think I’ve heard in fic writing. What was the inspiration that drew you to create this story. Beyond just the source material of  _ Wynonna Earp _ ?

 

INDIGO : That is an excellent question. ‘Cause I was like “ya know what, sometimes I don’t know where things come from.” [laughter] It’s probably not a very satisfying answer, but the point is, um, honestly, I had, I think I had a mood in my mind, or an aesthetic, if you will, in my mind, uh, before I wrote this. I had a vague concept and I’m terrible with outlines and planning, and anything that might contribute to a good story, but...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : ...I went ahead with it anyways, um, yeah, I wanted like a really, a really mellow feel to it, and I feel like I’ve been listening to a lot of country music lately, if I’m being completely honest with you.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Too much, uh, what are they called, Old Crow Medicine Show. Too much of that. But yeah, yeah, I started with the dialect, I started with the general premise. I was like “I wanna do a monster story”, and I just sort of went for it. No outline, no real inspiration. I’ve tried in the past to do, I mean all I really have is unique voice. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : That’s my one weapon in my arsenal. So, I picked one. It actually, I find that when I start to write something, I know within the first, uh, maybe two thousand words, if it’s gonna work or not. If I’m gonna be able to work this out. I find, shocking, ya know, ninety three thousand words later, uh, I just was really feeling it. Turns out it came pretty easy for me.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Which is weird, ‘cause obviously I do not have that accent, but I have been thinking in that accent for the last eight, nine months. It’s kind of ruined my internal monologues for me.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Yeah, my brain is southern now, so thanks for that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, you’re brain’s southern?

 

LARAGH : That’s awesome. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, isn’t that special?

 

LARAGH : Isn’t that special? [laughter] So, so, so really, from the start, the idea was Nicole’s voice as opposed to the overall plot, is that right?

 

INDIGO : Yeah, I just kinda went for it. As I start most of my things, I have zero road map. I have just like a mood, a voice I know I wanna go for, and an overarching concept that I think I can work within. The overarching concept was monsters, coming of age, and I just, I don’t know, the voice just came to me.

 

DARKWICCAN : And speaking of voice, uh, speaking of accents, if you had to classify the accent dialect of your characters, especially Nicole, um, that they are speaking in in this story, other than just basic southern, what would it be? Is there a region that you’re kind of thinking of in your mind?

 

INDIGO : I mean, if I did have one, that would be the intelligent answer, but...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : ...as someone who doesn’t plan things very well, I think if you, I don’t, ya know what, this would be an interesting question for someone who lives like, I don’t know, let’s say Appalachia, somewhere around that area. I would like to see if this in any way mirrors that, or if they would just be horribly offended by what I’ve written. It’s a good question, now that I think about it, but yeah, no, I mostly just, I was thinking just generally southern. My idea was that, I think I allude to this, hopefully I allude to this in the story, it’s been so long since I’ve written it. But uh, the idea was that she spent, ya know, the first twelve years of her life somewhere in the States before, ya know, terrible things happened to her, obviously. But, um, and generally I was picturing that she did grow up in the south, so she might not have like a strictly southern accent, but it’s something from that area that might have been bastardized by living in Canada. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about linguistics, don’t ask me. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So...yeah.

 

LARAGH : DW does.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that’s why I was asking. [said over Laragh]

 

LARAGH : DW’s an accent nerd. [said over DarkWiccan]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, [clears throat] so, so sort of just a muddy, muddy southern sound.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, I feel like I get away with it ‘cause I’m like “who knows what happens to a person who lives in the south and moves to Canada when they’re twelve and lives in the forest for a year, I guess.

 

DARKWICCAN : Fair.

 

LARAGH : Fair.

 

DARKWICCAN : Fair, fair, absolutely fair.

 

LARAGH : Purposefully vague. It’s one of my favorite fanfic tools.

 

INDIGO : Oh, it’s true.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I get away with fewer research then. It’s awesome.

 

LARAGH : Exactly.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Ok, so, one of the things I found really interesting, is that each chapter was preceded by um, a line or two of a song lyric. And quite a varied kind of, uh, collection of song lyrics. What was the significance of including those lyrics in each chapter?

 

INDIGO : I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you, terribly [laughter], but largely it was, ya know, it’s actually funny . I think it started a long time ago. I’m trying to remember which fanfic it started with, but I feel like I literally just had like one or two people requesting like song recommendations from me and I just started slapping them at the bottom in the author’s notes, and finally I just started putting them at the top. And for this one I decided, what the hell, I’ll just put them in the body of the story, um, it’s really just stuff I was listening to at the time.

 

LARAGH : That’s cool.

 

INDIGO : I mean, I have this like neverending, four hundred, it’s currently at like four hundred songs, playlist of things that I just discover from unique corners of the world, and uh, honestly, just stuff I like. I’m not sure it even related sometimes, but I was hoping people would just think I was being deep. It worked. Obviously.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] You rely on the old author’s tool of “what does this mean?” “What do you think it means?”

 

LARAGH : Think it means. [laughter]

 

INDIGO : See, you get it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : That was the goal. Also, I mean, who wants to sit there and think of chapter titles? My newest one, I’m not even, it’s part one and part two. People who do that, they know what’s up.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Yeah, I’ve never ever done chapter titles. No.

 

INDIGO : Well, one story, I did, like invent my own, and they just sounded like Fall Out Boy lyrics, or song titles, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Like, we’re done with it. That’s enough of that. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I feel you there, man. There is one story I wrote for the Willow/Tara fandom, and um, it’s still not finished. Laragh knows what I’m talking about. Uh, and I got, I had picked it up from another author, and they had titled each of their chapters, so I started trying to title each of my chapters, I get like thirty chapters in and I’m like “I can’t do this anymore.” [laughter]

 

INDIGO : But there’s only so many words, and you run out of words. I feel that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly, and I...

 

INDIGO : Yeah, from here on out, nothing, no more. It’s all gonna be part one and part two, part three. That’s what you guys are getting from me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] So, I know you said earlier that your author’s voice is the only trick in your bag, and uh, I would say that, boy is it a fantastic one because wow, your voice is so unique and fantastic and strong and clear-headed. I mean, I know you said you start off and you don’t really know where you’re going until you’re a little ways in, but it felt like from the outset you know where you’re going, so excellent job faking it until you make it. Um, are you inspired by other authors? Fic authors, or mainstream authors, or classical authors uh, that you have encountered in your life, that may have, had something to do with your author’s voice now, which is again, uniquely your own, but we all kind of pick up bits and pieces of styles and form them into our own style.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, no, that’s fair. I actually kina, I struggle with the line between um, inspiration and not sort of letting someone else’s style take over what you write. I, from the, I would say from the beginning when I first sat down and was like “I’m gonna write a fanfic” and then ninety eight thousand words later, ya know, so it goes. But uh, even from that point, I always felt, ya know, I have a very strange way of writing. It’s very clearly like a pretty raw tone, like, obviously it’s just my brain on a paper, but...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : ...which is a terrifying thing, but something we all have to live with, and...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : ...from the start, I wasn’t terribly sure that it was going to be a successful voice, ‘cause I’ve always felt that it was kind of strange, but ya know, a decent amount of people liked it, so here we are today, but I always felt, ya know I’ll say that when I write something, I actually and consume as little other media as possible. Which is very strange, I know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

INDIGO : But I don’t like to be too heavily influenced by anything, and I find that if I’m halfway through a story that I’m writing, and I start watching like a new TV show, or reading a new book or something, all I can do is compare myself as to what other people are doing. I think that’s a dangerous game. I’m not trying to like diss inspiration. Obviously I wouldn’t be able to put two words together if I hadn’t spent a lot of time reading growing up, but yeah, in general I try not to be too inspired by things, [laughter] if that’s a strange way to put it, but yeah, in particular, I really tried to stay away from letting it be based off like other fanfiction I’ve read, or other books I’ve read. I kinda try to stay away from that. So, if you like, what makes you unique is the best you can bring to the table in a fanfiction. Sometimes people rely much too heavily on tropes they know are successful, or styles that they know are successful, and I think that they would have much better luck if they just did what was unique to them. ‘Cause we’re all looking for a unique experience when we open a fanfiction. Or at least I am. Maybe I’m speaking for everyone.

 

DARKWICCAN : No, I think you’re absolutely, you can absolutely speak for everything on that, for sure. And, because the quantity of fanfic is so immensely high, you have to have a unique voice as an author so that, uh, readers will want to read what you’re writing, because if everyone’s writing in the same voice and they’re all writing essentially about the same, uh, about the same things, yeah, it’s gonna get dull and repetitive and you’re gonna lose audience members. I will say that your writing style reminds me of, or makes me think of, if Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut were to have a love child.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : [laughter] I don’t think that, no, I wouldn’t wanna see that child.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : That would be a really ugly child.

 

INDIGO : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, they would...

 

INDIGO : It would be a nightmare and also emotionally, probably also.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, but the writing would be immense.

 

INDIGO : That’s a nice compliment. I respect that. [unintelligible under DarkWiccan]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I think that your writing is immense.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, I concur.

 

INDIGO : He really brought out the doom and gloom cynic in all of us. Thanks for that compliment. Nah, I...

 

DARKWICCAN : Twain or Vonnegut? [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Uh, both. [laughter] More Vonnegut, I would say.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I would say.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, that’s a compliment though, thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : I think you deserve it. It’s very, very deserved.

 

INDIGO : Oh, thank you.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, so, you mentioned, ya know, that this fic blew up to near a hundred thousand words. When you started it, did you have a shorter plotline envisioned, or did you just kind of, the details just kept expanding as you wrote them?

 

INDIGO : Guys, I’m gonna be perfectly honest, I had no plotline envisioned. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I’m the worst at that sort of stuff.

 

LARAGH : I feel that. I feel that. With you there. I’ve done that.

 

INDIGO : You should have an outline. For anyone listening, you should have an outline. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Ya know, I had mile markers, general concepts of, like, action points that I wanted to happen. I was not sure when, but my biggest issue, and I feel like I’ve been vocal about this before, is that I have a hard time writing short things. I actually, really, really admire and respect people who are good at the amazing five K, uh, one-shot. I wish I had that talent. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I find the amount of talent required to be concise, to me at least, is much more impressive than the talent to be able to be, ya know, uh, emotionally satisfying at a hundred thousand words. I feel like most people could be emotionally satisfying at a hundred thousand words. [laughter] Like, even I can be.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : And that’s shocking, but uh, yeah, no, point being, the reason this ended up so long, is because I have a hard time uh, I guess, building full character arcs, and I really wanted this to be like maybe thirty thousand words. So, obviously I did a great job with that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : But uh, I had a lot of success there. But uh, no, the uh, I had plot points, they just were very loosely connected and then sometimes you find yourself in way too deep, and you’re like “if I don’t, I’m gonna be mad at myself if I don’t complete every arc that I want emotionally, character wise, what have you”. So, yeah, it just kind of built on itself. I couldn’t, it was like driving along a highway and not knowing your exit and not sure if you should get off the highway or keep driving until something looks familiar. I would advise you get off the highway, but I just kept driving until I saw something familiar.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : I think, I think that we, we have kinda, similar styles of writing. Yeah, I write that way as well. Obviously you do it much more masterfully, but...

 

INDIGO : No, please.

 

LARAGH : I think, um, [laughter] I think however you shaped this, it’s just such, such an amazing piece of work.

 

INDIGO : Well, I appreciate that. I will say, I did have the ending in mind. I had the ending in mind, so.

 

LARAGH : Well, that’s, I think, I think, if anyone wants to start a fanfiction, if you have an ending in mind...

 

INDIGO : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : ...just pick it up and start writing and see what happens. That’s what I, that’s how I started.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : The best advice I can offer to anyone trying to write something is just sit down and write.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

INDIGO : The hardest part of writing is physically writing, like, I went weeks without being able to just sit down and isolate time to write. It sounds like a dumb thing, but it’s true. The hardest part of writing is writing. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : No, you’re absolutely, nail on the head, spot on, correct.

 

LARAGH : Truth bomb, right there.

 

DARKWICCAN : That is absolutely the hardest part, for sure.

 

INDIGO : It’s true.

 

DARKWICCAN : Now, you say that you had no idea what the plot was, you knew what you wanted to happen at the end, you had beats that you knew you were going to hit, you didn’t know where but you were gonna land on them at some point and write toward them and then write away from them. Um, did you wait until this piece was finished before you started posting it?

 

INDIGO : I was about, if I recall correctly, I think I was about forty thousand words in when I started posting. Maybe...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, wow. So, not even half.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, no. Well, at the time I really thought I was close to an end.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : No, it was longer. I was like “surely this is ending soon.” Yeah, no, that was not. And then I was like “oh shit, I gotta keep writing ‘cause, ya know, I’m posting shit every week”. But uh, I think yeah, no, that was my bad.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : That did not work out like I thought it would. Actually, the biggest challenge, I found, was leading up to like, the big, like, moment where their relationship turned into a romantic one. I mean, you could argue it was long before they kissed. But, I felt like I accidentally designed characters who were gonna need a lot more time to fit into that kind of relationship, like, how do you accidentally design overly complicated characters. I don’t fuckin’ know. I managed it. But, uh.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : That was my biggest problem, was I never, it took me so long to feel organically, I could hit that step in their relationship. Maybe I was wrong, maybe people disagreed. I know there were some people who were frustrated, but I don’t care ‘cause this is my shit.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s right.

 

INDIGO : I’m the caretaker.

 

LARAGH : It was natural to me either, their relationship progression, it felt totally natural.

 

INDIGO : Well, that was the goal, that’s why I took so fucking long.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Yeah, not once did it feel protracted, or like, the delay was forced at all. I think everything fell together as it naturally needed to for these versions of these characters.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, I’ve never actually written people that young. That was difficult ‘cause personally, I was never a child, so, yeah.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I was like, “what is a child? I was born twenty-six years old.”

 

LARAGH : You were just programmed one day. [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I was born twenty-six years old with a pension, so I don’t know.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I don’t really know what happened here, but yeah, that was a challenge. I’ve never written children before. Turns out writing a coming of age is really difficult, I don’t recommend it, but uh [laughter], it was a good time.

 

DARKWICCAN : I would never have thought you hadn’t written children before because the way that you handled young Nicole, uh, and young Waverly...

 

LARAGH : And young Waverly.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...is just perfect. Absolutely perfect.

 

INDIGO : And, ya know, I will say, I appreciate that because I read a lot of children, like “nope, I don’t wanna this. Don’t show me this.” I think people think, I don’t know, children are difficult, but I think what you really have to keep in mind is they’re basically just adults, but they’re stupid. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I’m like “don’t write”...

 

DARKWICCAN : So, it seems...

 

INDIGO : No, go for it. What’s up?

 

DARKWICCAN : It, it, it seems like your secret to success here, is to just not know anything about what you’re doing and just dive in.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Just hope for the best.

 

INDIGO : That was beautifully put. [laughter][unintelligible]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, I love the fact that you just seem to stagger into excellence.

 

INDIGO : [laughter] That’s a nice way of putting it, isn’t it? I like that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Yeah, obvi...

 

DARKWICCAN : Because...

 

INDIGO : No, go for it. What’s up?

 

DARKWICCAN : No, no, I was gonna, because I never would have thought that you hadn’t sat down and plotted the story out. That, I never would have thought that you had no experience working with kids, or kids’ voices. I never would have thought any of this because your writing is so confident and clear and, again, your voice is so strong...

 

INDIGO : Ya know, maybe I should…[unintelligible]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that you got us all fooled, fantastically.

 

INDIGO : Maybe I shouldn’t be showing my cards here. Maybe I should just say...

 

DARKWICCAN : No, no.

 

INDIGO : ...I know all of this. I know it all.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I planned it all. I planned it all. I did extensive research of children.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, it makes it like [laughter], it makes it like exponentially more impressive though.

 

INDIGO : Oh, thank God.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I appreciate that.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Ok, alright, you mentioned earlier, you touched on, you thought that Nicole grew up in the States.

 

INDIGO : Mhmm.

 

LARAGH : Did you have an idea of what her backstory was, or the backstory of the attack because she just kind of forgets in the fic, obviously. Did you have an idea of what that was, what happened?

 

INDIGO : Mm, I could say this in a very like, poetic way, or I can just say, frankly, no. I did not plan that far, but uh, I don’t, ya know...

 

DARKWICCAN : Haven’t you been listening, Laragh?

 

LARAGH : I know, I know, I know. I just...

 

INDIGO : You really want me to say something deeper here, let me...

 

LARAGH : Yeah. [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I can fake deep. We’ve seen it, I can fake deep. Ya know, honestly, yeah, in my brain, the actual attack wasn’t that important. Like, it’s one of those things, bad things happen, it’s what happens after that matters, honestly.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm.

 

INDIGO : So, in my brain it was one of those things where it was like...

 

LARAGH : It just happened.

 

INDIGO : In an instant, everything changed and from that point on, that’s the story. Like, it doesn’t matter where you come from, it’s just where you’re going.

 

LARAGH : Goddamnit, you’re brilliant.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Now, now, one thing that makes this story, uh, God, I gotta find a better word than unique. [laughter] Damnit.

 

INDIGO : [unintelligible]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’ll cut a synonym in later. One thing that makes this story extra unique is the fact that Nicole is a werewolf, but she is not a sexy werewolf. She is quite hideous to look at.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Thank you, that’s my favorite part.

 

DARKWICCAN : Can you give us. Yes. Can you give us an idea of what you’re picturing as far as in your mind, when you’re picturing Nicole in full wolf form?

 

INDIGO : That’s interesting. I actually debated ever ever tagging it as werewolf AU ‘cause I think the funniest part was in ninety three thousand words, I never once used the word werewolf. Um, in my brain it was just like hideous monster. I went with werewolf ‘cause I, I think, I, I guess the shallow answer is, I just wanted people to know generally what they were in for.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

INDIGO : I think honest tagging is important, in like fan. If you don’t tell me like point blank this is a whatever AU, don’t get too poetic with me, I’m not gonna know what the fuck you’re talking about ‘cause I’m a criminal justice major and I don’t know things. But um, I know nothing.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] You know some things. Ok. [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Just, at least like three or four things, but not more than that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : So, I went with the tag werewolf, but in my brain it was sort of whatever in your brain you can think of that is hideous and terrifying, like let’s go with that.

 

LARAGH : Oh my God, she’s trying for Trump.

 

INDIGO : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh no!

 

INDIGO : Nope, that’s the one thing you’re not allowed to think of.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I do not wanna think about that, but uh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Neither do we. Oh man.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, woo.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s a little too hideous. Not even a mother could love that, no.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, that’s asking a lot of Waverly, it’s asking too much.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : Frankly, but uh, yeah, I guess I was picturing big, mangy, massive claws, ugly face. I’m very passionate about non-sexy werewolves.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I only wanna hear about werewolves when they’re not sexy.

 

DARKWICCAN : Which I think is reasonable.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

INDIGO : I guess.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Me too, actually.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, Indigo, it has been an absolute delight chatting with you today. Thank you so much for joining us on the show. This has been, oh man, this has probably been one of my favorite chats.

 

INDIGO : Aww, too nice. Thank you, I appreciate it.

 

DARKWICCAN : But before we let you go, we do have one final question that we have to ask.

 

INDIGO : Oh, boy.

 

LARAGH : You are stranded on a desert island and can only have one fanfic to read, what is it?

 

INDIGO : [laughter] Uh, that’s such a good question. What I really wanna do with that question, is ask you “what do you think it should be?”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I don’t read enough fanfiction because I never know, like what I should be reading. I base my life largely on recommendations, but recently I have been reading, oh what was the one. I’m a big fan of two things: monster stories and historical fiction, but with lesbians. Lately, I’m not sure I have a desert island fic, but the ones I’ve been into, what’s that series. The uh, it’s on it’s second part right now, the “Heart of Gold” one. I was feelin’ that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [loud inhale] Yes, yes. The Heart Series.

 

INDIGO : I was feelin’ that one. That was good, um, it’s historical fiction with lesbians, who doesn’t love that?! And um...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. That’s the Heart Series by Likeitmatters.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, that’s the one. That’s the one. Um, and then the last few days I’ve been powering through the massive tomb of sensitive_pigeon’s “Get Lost” one.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ah.

 

INDIGO : So, I was like “oh my God, there’s another monster story? Hook me up.” That was a good one. Or is a good one, I’m not finished, don’t spoil it. I’m not finished. But I don’t know...

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so…

 

INDIGO : What should I be reading, what should be my next fic?

 

LARAGH : You, you named some pretty good ones there.

 

DARKWICCAN : You did, and unfortunately this is one where we can’t help you and you’re only allowed to pick one. So...

 

INDIGO : But why?

 

DARKWICCAN : ...between the Heart Series and “Get Lost”, which one would you rather be stuck with on a desert island?

 

INDIGO : [loud exhale] I mean, I wanna say “Get Lost” but that one actually kinda scared me. Do I really, like, stuck alone on an island, do I really want to be reading about things I scare me?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : I think I’m gonna say yes, ‘cause I have no self-preservation instincts.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : [unintelligible]

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright, so, I think this is...

 

INDIGO : Unless it ends bad, then I take it back. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh yeah. It’s sensitive_pigeon, it’s not going to end badly.

 

INDIGO : Ok, that’s good.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, alright, well, once again, I think this is the third time that a work of sensitive_pigeon’s has been selected as a desert island pick...

 

LARAGH : Rightfully so.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I am...

 

INDIGO : Ooh, do they get a prize? [unintelligible] prize.

 

DARKWICCAN : They don’t. Maybe we should come up with one. I don’t know, but they.

 

INDIGO : [sad horn sound]

 

DARKWICCAN : But we will happily, happily, once again, provide a link to their story “Get Lost” so that anyone who hasn’t, and why haven’t you?, read the story yet, has a chance to check out “Get Lost” by sensitive_pigeon.

 

INDIGO : Nice.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, Indigo, once again, thank you so much for coming on the show. I am thoroughly enjoying and currently devouring your uh, high school AU, the  _ Pretty in Pink _ riff that you’re writing right now. I absolutely adore it.

 

INDIGO : Well, thank God.

 

DARKWICCAN : I encourage everyone to go check out the story. It’s called “every lie you’ve heard” uh, I’m real excited to see how it wraps up since you have only given yourself four chapters to do so.

 

INDIGO : [unintelligible]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

INDIGO : That’s a challenge for me, as we all know. I’m goin’ for it.

 

DARKWICCAN : You can do it. I believe in you.

 

INDIGO : Thank you, that means a lot.

 

LARAGH : Thank you for letting us fangirl over you today.

 

INDIGO : Oh, any time. My, I guess my Twitter is always open.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, please follow Indigo at coldmackerels, that’s a plural of mackerels, on Twitter.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, without the S, it’s a porn uh, blog.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Nice.

 

INDIGO : With only one video though, so, it’s fine.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, a lame porn blog, then, geez.

 

INDIGO : Go check it out.

 

LARAGH : Not even a good one.

 

INDIGO : Yeah, it’s a single porn video to watch.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright, well, we’re gonna let you go and let you get back to polishing up “every lie you’ve ever heard”. Have a fantastic holiday even though this will be airing in the new year. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday week.

 

INDIGO : Thank you, you as well. Thanks guys.

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us. Immense thanks to coldmackerel, aka indigo, for joining us today to talk about “This Old House”. Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story and In Case of Trouble by Darren Korb, It’s a Treasure Box by Shinichi Sakamoto, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	14. Ahoy, Me Hearties!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DW and Delayne set sail on the high seas of the Caribbean as they discuss the swashbuckling fic 'Show Me Where Your Loyalties Lie'. Then they batton down the hatches and chat with author Vythian on this exciting work.

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/ahoy-me-hearties)

 

Read the Fic!

[Show Me Where Your Loyalties Lie](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15715800) by Vythian

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://efapodcast.com/youareavision.tumblr.com)

 

Vythian's Desert Island Fic pick: [Open Range Hearts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7353505) by thewaywedo33 (aka [@HaughtsCuffs](https://twitter.com/HaughtsCuffs))

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [ApproxTenCats](https://twitter.com/approxtencats)

 

Ep 214: Ahoy Me Hearties!

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN: Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everybody to another episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me as my first mate today, with yo-ho-ho and a bottle of Dr Pepper...

DELAYNE: Hi, it’s Delayne.  I mean, “arrr” it’s Delayne.

DARKWICCAN:  There you go “arrr, arrr”.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Oh my god.

DARKWICCAN: [pirate voice]  I’m enjoying a nice pint of grog.  And I’m using a hook to drink it with and I keep dropping it ‘cause the hook doesn’t have an opposable thumb.  Also I think that I need to take this eye patch off ‘cause I’ve lost my depth perception. I think I’ve taken this scene as far as it can go.

DELAYNE: [laugh continues] Aye, it has sailed far.

DARKWICCAN: It has, I think we’ve swashed our buckles a bit too much.

DELAYNE: So what are we talking about today?

DARKWICCAN: I know right? [laughs] [CONTENT CENSORED. VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]  Alright enough of that. Now let’s get serious, let’s get serious about piracy.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Well, yeah, piracy is a very serious thing.

DARKWICCAN: But that’s not the kind of piracy we’re talking about.  So piracy, it is bad now but there was a time in our history when piracy was more or less legal, it was called privateering.

DELAYNE: Ooh, a history lesson.

DARKWICCAN:  Yay! Yeah, there was a time in history when privateering was legal and was supported by the government, mostly the government of England, I believe also Spain, I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t do a whole lot of research.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: So we are here today to talk about a fantastic pirate AU called  _ Show Me Where Your Loyalties Lie  _ and it is by the author Vythian, and it is a delightful historical fiction.

DELAYNE: Yes.  I do love historical fiction.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes.

DELAYNE: It’s definitely well researched historical fiction.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, and you can tell a lot of time and care and research has gone into this work.  Not just in the stuff you’d expect to have to learn about piracy in general and female pirates of the late sixteen hundreds and also understanding parts of a ship and things like that.  Honestly these are things that you don’t need to do a whole lot of digging into unless you really want to because thanks to stuff like  _ Pirates of the Caribbean _ and  _ Black Sails _ and other things like that, I think most lay people if they’re engaging in this type of media have a basic understanding of things like that.  But this feels like Vythian has really sat down and knuckled down and done the work.

DELAYNE: Yes,  ‘cause it is a rich tapestry.

DARKWICCAN: Nice.

DELAYNE: Just the minor details, even stopping for pastries, this is such a great fic, such a good choice.

DARKWICCAN: It’s such a fantastic pirate fic about pastries.

DELAYNE: [laughs] You know me and my random details that I like to throw out.  Pastries is one of them.

DARKWICCAN:  I think what you’re trying to say is that it’s a very synonym for vivid.

DELAYNE: Yes, it’s a rich tapestry of vivid scenery and details, like pastries, and it’s an exciting adventure.

DARKWICCAN: And it has the greatest visual, character visual, of really any AU piece that I have read so far.

DELAYNE: Really?

DARKWICCAN: You cannot hear this character description without being able to picture it in full brilliant life-like color, and that is Pirate Captain Nicole Haught.  Just the name, you know exactly what you’re looking at and it’s gorgeous.

DELAYNE: Do we need to call out to our fandom artists to get on that?

DARKWICCAN: Hey yeah, absolutely, fandom artists out there, especially *cough* Diana Benitez *cough cough*. Take a moment out of your busy schedule and draw up this image of Pirate Captain Nicole Haught.  Pirate Captain Nicole Haught! It’s just perfect. It is absolutely perfect. So you take that just incredibly rich image and you pair it with the immense writing that’s going on, and we’re only three chapters in to a fifteen chapter story, but you just get this striking and lively and really… what’s a great word? Um, flamboyant?  No. Well maybe, a little bit.

DELAYNE: Pirates are known to be flamboyant.

DARKWICCAN:  This is true.  How apropos. 

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: But basically you mix all these ingredients together and you just get an exciting fantastic story that you just want to dig into and live in for a while, it’s just a lot of fun.  And I do like the fact that it does start off in kind of a dark and almost kind of a greyscale place, where Waverly is searching for Wynonna who has been, and again I don’t think this is a spoiler because this is how the story starts off so it’s going to be hard for us to talk about it if we don’t.  But Wynonna’s been kidnapped. And I know you’re going, “how can Wynonna be kidnapped? She’s Wynonna!” Well, she’s gotten herself into a scrape somehow and she has apparently gone missing. Waverly assumes she’s been kidnapped, most of the people around Waverly are telling her that Wynonna’s probably dead and to give it up but of course Waverly’s tenacious and Wynonna’s her sister so she’s not gonna give it up.  So she basically is trying any means necessary to the point of running herself into bankruptcy to try to find what happened to Wynonna, to try to find Wynonna.

DELAYNE: And running to a character that is [laughs] well usually there’s two names we will say with disdain on this podcast. One of them is Champ, we have not seen Champ yet, if we do at all, that’s fine.

DARKWICCAN:  I really hope not.

DELAYNE: So Waverly and her attempt to seek Wynonna, as a last resort, seeks assistance in Tucker Gardner.  Fucking Tucker.

DARKWICCAN: He is just… slime.  He’s absolute slime. I honestly have an easier time believing stories where Tucker is the bad guy than I do in believing stories where Champ is the bad guy.  Not to say I don’t believe that Champ can be a bad guy but he’s just such an idiot. Whereas Tucker is his own special brand of evil, you know?

DELAYNE: And this is written so well, it is… it really hits home how horrible he is.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm, yeah, yeah.  But in doing so Vythian has created this fantastic dichotomy between Tucker Gardner, a technically legal businessman, and Nicole Haught, a just-riding-the-line-of-legal more toward over the line to illegal privateer.  Because when we start off the story Waverly has a very strong opinion of pirates. Very strong.

DELAYNE: Pirates bad.

DARKWICCAN: Pirates bad.  That’s just it. Pirates equal bad.  They’re murderers, and misfits and thieves and other bad things, and you just don’t want to associate with those people.

DELAYNE: Even though her father sold rum to them.

DARKWICCAN:  [clears throat] well, you gotta make a living.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Who else is going to buy rum?

DARKWICCAN: Right? [Jack Sparrow voice] “Where’s the rum gone?” 

DELAYNE: [laughs] Very nice.

DARKWICCAN: Anyway, thank you, that is the beginning and the end of my Johnny Depp Captain Jack Sparrow impression, that’s it, the whole thing.  But yeah, so, but anyway as I was saying Vythian sets up this great dichotomy, you’ve got this person who is technically a legal law abiding business owner and you’ve got Nicole who is riding that line of legality, a pirate by all… for all intents and purposes she is a pirate and therefore someone Waverly would view in disdain, right?  So, we of course as readers know that Tucker is the worst of the worst so I love the fact that you’ve got Waverly in these two scenarios, one where she’s on Tucker’s ship and it’s absolute hell and just disgusting, and then without going into too much detail on how she ends up on Nicole’s ship The Calamity Jane. [with rising excitement] How awesome is that?  She named the ship The Calamity Jane. I love it so much. Oh my god.

DELAYNE: I love it when you get excited like that.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

DELAYNE: You’re right, as soon as I saw the ship name I thought, “yes, epic!”

DARKWICCAN:  But yes, so she’s got her onboard The Calamity Jane, I’ll never get over that, and it is a beautifully kept, clean, well appointed, well cared for vessel.  So, that if nothing else, shows you the difference between who is truly good and who is truly bad and I think and who cares for their people and who doesn’t care for their people, and that is very telling.  And I wonder if we’ve seen the last of Tucker...

DELAYNE: I suspect we have not.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.

DELAYNE: I think we’ll come back around to this.

DARKWICCAN:  Like I mentioned it’s very early going with this.  It’s only three chapters out of fifteen estimated so… anything could happen.  We could see them come back around. We’re really just starting to dip our toe, tippy-toe, into a major arc within the story.

DELAYNE: It’s mostly been a lot of character introductions.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.

DELAYNE: Of characters that we love.

DARKWICCAN: Yes!  I was going to say, aside from Waverly and Nicole, who is your favorite canon character to be reintroduced in this story so far?

DELAYNE: Oh, thanks for making a tough choice.

DARKWICCAN: Ha ha! [pirate voice]  No mercy. This is my version of a keel haul.

DELAYNE: Well, I’m leaning towards, well just the first introduction that we see, that Waverly talks to, is the combo, the pairing, of Doc and Dolls.

DARKWICCAN:  [laughs] Yes.

DELAYNE: I think I like them as a pair, and not in a weird ship way, sorry guys.

DARKWICCAN: Not as a romantic pair but as co-workers.

DELAYNE: As co-workers, who both tell Waverly that they’re the first mate.

DARKWICCAN: I just love the fact that Waverly chooses not to comment on it.  [laughs]

DELAYNE: Right, she gives a look like, “wait a minute” and then decides not to.  Like “we’ll just leave that alone.”

DARKWICCAN: Yes exactly, we’re just going to leave that lie there for now.  No but I do love… I love how they work together when they’re helping Waverly to get off Tucker’s ship.  I love how gentle they are with her and how reassuring, and with that whole insane process of getting off a ship that’s under siege and getting her to safety I just, you got this chaos raining around them and yet Doc and Dolls are entirely focussed and competent and kind and aware of the fact that Waverly’s been through some hell, and like I said before, being gentle with her.  And even the fact that Tucker’s ship was very dark and when they get onto the Calamity Jane, all of the quarters and whatnot are below deck and they’re about to take Waverly down to her guest quarters and she balks like, “I’m not going back down into the dark” and so Doc is like completely reassuring with her, it’s “I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. I’m just showing you where your guest quarters are, you’re not a prisoner here, why don’t you carry the lantern so you have the light, I assure you that your room has a window” like, it’s just so sweet.  But one thing I really love, that Vythian’s held onto, is Doc’s speech pattern in that he doesn’t speak in contractions when he speaks, and he uses long descriptive florid sentences when he speaks, and kind of old-fashioned old-timey sentences which I mean, here it makes sense because it’s 1679 but even the other characters, even if they’re speaking appropriately for the time period, they don’t get as into it as Doc does.

DELAYNE: Right ‘cause Xavier, first mate Xavier, he is very short and to the point, as Dolls normally is so.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes, I just love the fact they’re both first mate.  You know what would be hilarious? If neither of them are actually first mate?  

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: I mean it’s highly unlikely, at least one of them is.  But I mean there are other canon characters who show up as well.

DELAYNE: Yeah, so do you have a favorite one?

DARKWICCAN:  You know, honestly I think Doc is my favorite so far.  But after Doc, surprisingly to me, this really shocks me, Jeremy, I really like Jeremy in this story and I typically, I enjoy Jeremy but I don’t usually love Jeremy.  Because I think he’s adorable but he’s also a little bit annoying. You know what I mean?

DELAYNE: He’s just so adorable at times but I guess that just gets a little too adorable for you?

DARKWICCAN: He gets like a hyperactive overly stimulated puppy?  And that, I think I find a little cloying and a little grating. Because it’s cute for a few minutes but when it just goes on and on… Now here’s the thing, I don’t feel like it goes on and on in this story.  If I did feel that way then I wouldn’t be saying that he’s my second favorite canon character. Again, we’ve taken Waverly and Nicole out of this equation because we of course we both love Waverly and Nicole, and they’re always gonna come first.  This is applying to secondary characters right?

DELAYNE: I think I agree with you, his enthusiasm and Waverly clearly responds to it and I think that’s important for her, getting into and being part of the ship. Without Jeremy I think it would be a little bit more of a rough transition.  We haven’t met Rosita a whole lot yet, I definitely look forward to seeing more of Rosita.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.  Rosita is the ship’s doctor.

DELAYNE: That’s what I understand it to be.

DARKWICCAN: Well, she introduces herself as the ship’s doctor.  And Jeremy is the cook.

DELAYNE: She actually used those words “I’m  a doctor” and I was not paying attention. Cool, yeah.  My reading comprehension...

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, she said, “I’m Rosita, ship’s doctor” or something like that.  What would have been really hilarious is if she had said, “I’m the doctor” and then took out a sonic screwdriver like we’re in a completely different story.

DELAYNE: Wow, this went off the rails didn’t it. [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: But no, staying within this story, she identifies herself as the ship’s doctor.  And I like the fact that Jeremy’s the cook, I think that’s very clever. I think that’s a very clever use of canon Jeremys ability with chemistry, because so much of cooking is chemistry.

DELAYNE: Yes.  My wife’s a good cook and she’s good at that chemistry stuff too.

DARKWICCAN: So the story is, like we said, it’s only three chapters in, so we don’t have a whole lot to go on except the fact that each chapter so far has just been wonderfully written.  I mean, the writing in this story is so excellent. When this first posted it’s very first chapter, when Vythian posted the first chapter to this story and I clicked into it, this was months ago, I immediately was like, “this is going on the list for the show, this is going to feature on the show, whether it be in a standalone episode by itself or if it’s part of a group of stories, this is going on the show.”  Because the writing is so high quality and vivid and just, it’s spirited writing, it’s absolutely spirited writing. And it’s energetic and you just dive right into it.

DELAYNE: Good choice of words.  And diving right into it. Off the plank.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes absolutely.  But you absolutely do not feel like you’re walking the plank while you’re reading the story.

DELAYNE: No, it’s a lovely stroll off the plank.  It’s a lovely stroll on your beautiful sandy beach on your deserted island.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, yes, and so it’s only three chapters in but we had to bring it on the show, or at least I had to bring it on the show because you can tell that it’s going someplace spectacular.  And I am absolutely along for the ride with Captain Nicole Haught.

DELAYNE: [laughs] I would definitely be on that ship with whatever job you wanna give me.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes, I will swab the decks, no problem.  I will batten down the hatches. I will… yes.

DELAYNE: I don’t know any other jobs.  Other than the one that Waverly thought Nicole was implying.

DARKWICCAN: Oh [laughs]

DELAYNE: She just said… [laughs]

DARKWICCAN:  I want to say, and this is a really horrible thing to say I think because I think it ultimately, unfortunately falls into that patriarchal thinking in a way, patriarchal bias, but there is something so adorable about Waverly when she’s outraged.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Ah, yes.

DARKWICCAN: I mean, I wouldn’t want to be in front of… I wouldn’t want to be in the line of that.

DELAYNE: Of a Hurricane Waverly?  No.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.  But, and I think it’s just because she’s a small person,  so that sort of adds to it a little bit? I’m a bad person.

DELAYNE: I feel you, friend.  I getcha.

DARKWICCAN: So why don’t we steer this ship into safer waters.  Why don’t we talk to the author herself about this wonderful story that she is crafting here.  [CONTENT CENSORED. VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC:  _ Knights of the Sea _ by Darren Korb

DARKWICCAN: Hey everybody and welcome back to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me with her Smee cap and a peg leg is my delightful co-host…

DELAYNE: [laughs] Delayne.

DARKWICCAN:  And we are super excited to be here chatting about a very exciting and delightful pirate AU that we were speaking about in the primary segment today and we are lucky enough to have the author, hold on, we are lucky enough to have the author of  _ Show Me Where Your Loyalties Lie _ , Vythian welcome to the show.

VYTHIAN: Hi, thank you for having me.

DARKWICCAN:  Thank you so much for joining us.  I’m glad that you were able to make port in time for this recording session today.

VYTHIAN: Me too

DELAYNE: [laughs] Is there going to be a lot of puns today?  Should I be prepared?

DARKWICCAN: Well, of course there are going to be pirate puns.

VYTHIAN: I am loving all the pirate puns, they are fantastic. 

DARKWICCAN: Alright, listen you landlubbers, let’s get down to this.

DELAYNE: Let’s continue. 

DARKWICCAN:  Let’s work on our sea legs a bit here.  So Vythian, that is quite a pirate-y sounding name.  Is it a pirate name? A pirate origin?

VYTHIAN: It is not.  It actually originated because I really hated putting numbers in my gamertags and I was looking for a name that was original enough that no one would have it.  I actually used a fantasy “Name for your old god” type generator and it popped up and I thought, “huh, Vythian’s pretty cool, I think I’ll use that one.” And lucky for me no one else has chosen it yet so I still get to be the first and not have to put numbers in any of my screen names.  Which is fantastic.

DARKWICCAN: That’s quite a coup.

DELAYNE: I haven’t been able to enter things without numbers in forever.  Back on AOL when I had emails...

VYTHIAN: Oh my gosh, so many numbers.  So many numbers. 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, you know it’s really depressing to me when I go onto a site and I put in my name DarkWiccan and it says, “that name is already taken” and I’m like, “by who?  I have been DarkWiccan since the mid-nineties, who on earth has taken my name?”

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: That’s why on Tumblr I’m “The Real DarkWiccan”

VYTHIAN: Gosh really?

DARKWICCAN: Yes.

DELAYNE: So now you know, Vythian, if that ever happens, if someone picks it up you will be “The Real, or the Original, Vythian.”

DARKWICCAN: Yes.

VYTHIAN: I’ll have to keep that in mind. 

DARKWICCAN:  Yes, anyway to avoid using numbers.  So I gotta ask, it looks like you have written a few things here on AO3, how did you get involved in fanfiction.

VYTHIAN: Oh, gosh.  I actually got involved in fan fic way back in the days of Glee which is like a [inaudible] me now.  That’s a whole other boat, a can of worms right there. I’m mixing all my metaphors.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

VYTHIAN: Someone had a small, under 500 words, fan fiction contest, you know to write the flowery prose type pieces and I was like, “well, I’ve never written anything fiction in my whole life, but I’m gonna give it a shot” and I kind of fell in love with writing and it kind of transferred through all my fandoms until I hit Wynonna Earp and I was like, “you know, I want to try and tackle a multi chapter fic.”  I’ve never done it before, I have no idea how I’m going to outline all this, it’s turned into this huge thing, but I really wanted to give it a shot.

DARKWICCAN: Nice.

DELAYNE: Thank you for giving it a shot.  Are we talking like cannonball sized shot?

DARKWICCAN: Oh.

VYTHIAN: Yes, it is exactly a cannonball sized shot.  Of which there is like a surprisingly lot of different types of shots for cannonballs, I mean for cannons, there is only one cannonball, actually there’s not, there’s like fifteen different sizes.

DARKWICCAN:  So is this story, hold on now… Let’s not get marooned up on too many pirate jokes.  

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: So  _ Show Me Where Your Loyalties Lie _ , this is your first attempt at a multi chap?

VYTHIAN: It is yes.  I’ve done, I think I have one other multichapter on my AO3 but it’s really just a collection of random  _ Person Of Interest _ stories that I’ve written.  So they’re not actually connected in any way.

DARKWICCAN:  Gotcha, so they’re just each individual stand-alone pieces.

VYTHIAN: Yeah, exactly, and I’ve done one or two other small collections but I’ve never actually done a coherent fic with multiple chapters before.

DARKWICCAN: So, I have to ask then, how did Wynonna Earp inspire you to attempt… what is it about the Wynonna Earp universe or characters, that inspired you to say, “you know what, I’m going to take a break away from these one-shots and really try to create a plotted multichapter work?”

VYTHIAN: It’s kind of a lot of things at once.  I love the depth of character for pretty much the entire cast of characters on Wynonna Earp.  There’s such great depth there. It’s really worth exploring and for me I found it’s really easy to explore in multiple chapters.  We’ve seen the characters grow so much already I feel like I can use that and trace it through my story and that was a big part of it, but also we had been talking about, on Discord actually, Captain Nicole, and I couldn’t get the idea of Nicole being a pirate captain out of my head and so I sat down at two o’clock in the morning and wrote this outline for this pirate story and the outline eventually got so big that there’s no way I could fit this into a single long story.  Maybe I’ll try and tackle breaking it up. And now I have sixteen planned chapters for it. So one part interesting characters and one part it kind of just really got away from me.

DARKWICCAN: The best stories do, the best stories do. Absolutely, and I’m very excited for this story, I mean the image of Pirate Captain Nicole Haught is so vivid and wonderful that you just have to embrace it.

VYTHIAN: Thank you.

DARKWICCAN: And there are a lot, well maybe not a lot, but it seems like  things seem to go in waves right now. There are a few pieces of popular media right now that seem to drift around pirate and pirate culture and that period of time, the 1600s to 1700s and maybe even tiptoeing into the 1800s a wee bit, but really 1600 and 1700s.   About you know, the pirate trade, and things that were happening in the Caribbean Islands and one of those things is  _ Black Sails _ .  So have you seen  _ Black Sails _ and if so did that influence or inspire along with  _ Wynonna Earp _ .

VYTHIAN: Okay so, it’s kind of funny because it’s actually the exact opposite.  I got the idea of pirate captain Nicole and I was really excited by it and I wouldn’t stop talking about it and so my friends were like, “have you seen  _ Black Sails _ , you should watch it.”  And I knew it was a show that existed out in the universe and was about pirates but other than that I had no idea.  So I’m on episode five of season one. But it’s very interesting.

DARKWICCAN:  It is, it’s an interesting show and I think that just because in reading your story, because I had seen some, not all, some of  _ Black Sails _ and that aesthetic was in my mind, because your writing is very vivid and very picturesque so it’s very easy to visualize what you’re saying so when you take that skill set in your writing style and you couple it with a background knowledge, an idea of aesthetic from  _ Black Sails _ , or even  _ Pirates of the Caribbean _ , why the hell not, you get this very clear picture of what you’re reading.  It’s a lot of fun.

VYTHIAN: Oh, good.  I always hope that it comes through.  I always worry that it doesn’t but I always hope that it does.  Like all the little details and everything.

DARKWICCAN: It definitely does.  And again you start with as vivid an idea and an image as Captain Nicole Haught and you’re golden.

DELAYNE: It does.  It creates quite the image and that helps the rest of the imagination dive into the rest of the world.  What I’m curious about is did you just have an interest in pirates? Or was this a whole new world for you since obviously it didn’t come from  _ Black Sails _ ?

VYTHIAN: It didn’t come from  _ Black Sails _ no.  I’ve always had kind of an interest in sailing and that whole golden age of sail.  I’ve always liked that adventurousness that sort of came with sailing into the unknown.  I thought pirates were interesting but I was more of a casual fan like, “oh cool, I’ll go see the tall ships when they’re in town” cause I live near the ocean so that’s handy but I feel like also it’s a new world for me because since I actually started writing the story and doing a bit of research on it I’ve learnt so much more about pirates, there’s just so much interesting information out there that I was never really privy to.  So it’s like, “oh I always liked pirates, I always liked stories about pirates and sailing” and at the same time I’m like, “wow, I had no idea that any of this was out there at all”. 

DARKWICCAN: So how much work went into understanding the place and time, the trade routes, the pirate dens, the contemporary politics of the age.

VYTHIAN: I did a lot of research.  I really like research, I fall down research rabbit holes all the time and I did it in school, I do it now that I’m not in school, I love researching things so I spent a solid six weeks or so between, like before I ever started a google doc or created a solid outline for my first chapter.  I bought a couple of books, I went to my local library, I did everything from, you know, the time that various cultural influences arrived in the Caribbean, to fashion in the 1600s, to increased equality among people of various races and religions and sexes aboard pirate ships versus quote unquote polite society.   Which is surprising because there was a much more equitable relationship between people on pirate ships because everyone was outcasts so everyone had to work. If you worked you were valued and that was… I mean in the era there were still severe issues but it was surprising to learn that these so called outcasts and hardened criminals and oftentimes murderers were often more tolerant than high society was, which I thought was so so interesting. But I love research and all that stuff.

DARKWICCAN:  Honestly, research for me is such a hugely fun part of writing that I completely hear you there.  First of all, A: it’s fun to learn all this new stuff. But B: it’s also very validating to be like, “oh these ideas I’m having have an actual root in reality and I’m not just talking a flight of fancy.”  Did you do a lot of research into notorious female pirates of the age, like Anne Bonny and Mary Read?

VYTHIAN: I did, I did some.  I actually have a really cool book on female pirates and I did a little bit of research but I researched more on what piracy was like.  There’s a book called  _ The Sea Rover’s Practice _ by Benerson Little and it has been so so helpful because it talks about tactics and techniques and how pirates were expert marksmen and how they fought and why they did certain things.  And I wanted bigger pictures and I tried not to focus on individual people because I didn’t want to start researching Anne Bonny and then start writing Nicole and just be writing Anne Bonny.

DARKWICCAN: Right.

VYTHIAN: So I tried, that’s why I set this story a little bit beforehand, because 1679 that’s right smack dab in the middle of the golden age of piracy but it’s before all of the peace treaties that created outright pirates like Blackbeard and Anne Bonny.

DARKWICCAN:  Aahh.

VYTHIAN: Yeah, so it was in the 1680s that there was actually a peace treaty signed between Britain and France and Spain that ended a lot of that privateering against Spain, so these privateers who had been protected now became outright pirates against everybody. So I liked that border area because it gave me a little more room to play.  I didn’t have to align Nicole with any specific country or any specific thing but I didn’t have to make her as vicious as Blackbeard or Anne Bonny.

DARKWICCAN: That’s fascinating, that’s really cool, that’s really cool.  And also just as you said, you know your research into piracy in general and the politics onboard a pirate ship being more of a democracy than a standard vessel...

VYTHIAN: Yeah, absolutely.  I learned that and I liked it and I originally wanted to  include it in the story but I also wanted Nicole to be a pirate captain with a bit of an empire.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

VYTHIAN: I could have her be democratically elected or I could give her five pirate ships and let her be badass.

DARKWICCAN: Well, who’s to say she wasn’t democratically elected initially and then because she’s such an excellent pirate captain...

VYTHIAN: That is true.  I just might steal that.

DARKWICCAN:  Well, go for it. [laughs]

DELAYNE: I am amazed at all the research you have done.  This is great to hear about, I’m excited. How much research went into the parts of a boat, all these details about the boats themselves sounds like you had an interest in sailboats anyway.  So is this something you already knew or did you do a lot of research into that as well?

VYTHIAN: I also did a lot of research, I racked up a lot of library fees because I found a really good book at my library and I just forgot to give it back. [laughs] It was very very helpful.  But also I read, I don’t know if you know it, there’s a book called  _ The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle _ by Avi.  It’s a kids chapter book and I read it a hundred times when I was a kid.  It’s about this girl and she’s on a sailing ship and she ends up being a sailor so I knew a little bit, basically what I’d got from this children’s book.  It had the glossary of terms, and the map of the ship in the back. So I had the most absolute basic knowledge of fore and aft and port and starboard and this is a mast.  But most of the rest of it I sort of learned when I was doing research for this or I sort of rediscovered.

DARKWICCAN: So talking about points of view, in this case you kind of touching a little bit of Nicole’s point of view of wanting to see the world from the yard, which if you didn’t know what that was on a ship you would be like, “standing in a yard?  Looking at the world?” But anyway, let’s talk about point of view, so this fic is actually primarily set from Waverly’s point of view. Now we’ve included one chapter of the three that have been posted of the sixteen, that includes an interlude that tells us about Nicole’s point of view on things. Was that to allow the reader insight to Nicole?  Or did you feel like Waverly’s story was enhanced by showing us Nicole’s story as well?

VYTHIAN: Um, this sounds like a total wishy washy answer to say that it’s a little bit of both, I think I’ve said that for every question so far but it is sort of true.  One of my favorite fan fictions that I had ever read years and years ago when I was in the Glee fandom used interludes and it used them brilliantly to give an sort of alternate perspective and it really enhanced the story and I liked that idea.  And I felt like the story as a whole would sort of benefit from Nicole’s perspective, partly because she’s privy to way more information that Waverly is, and partly because she would not leave me alone. Nicole is generally a little bit easier for me to write most of the time because I relate to her a little bit more and after chapter two I got kind of stuck because I was having some problems with Waverly and writing her and getting back into it, especially because of what was going on in canon at the time, because we were right towards the end of season three.  And I had this scene of Nicole standing on the yard and watching the sunrise from her ship and I loved it and I wanted to just run with it and I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, but my beta who is totally brilliant and puts up with all my terrible, it’s really bad guys, my grammar is terrible most of the time.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

VYTHIAN: I think it’s got good enough that she has finally stopped crying when I send her rough drafts so that’s a plus.  Shout out to Newt, you are the best beta that I could possibly ask for. But she recommended that I create a shorter interlude instead of doing a whole chapter or just writing it and then trashing it and never letting it see the light of day.  So I probably would have written it either way but I did like it and I think that it does enhance the story and it gives the reader a bit more information. And I have a couple more plans throughout this story just to like, mix it up, I guess, spice it up.  Some of them are to give important information and some of them are after certain scenes because I feel like it would really benefit from Nicole’s perspective. So, a little bit of both.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, that makes a lot of sense actually because there is something to be said for a narrator who doesn’t know what is going on, the opposite of omniscient narrator right?.  So in this case it would be really Waverly, she’s not really narrating, it’s not first person, but it is all from her point of view for the most part, and yeah you’re right she doesn’t really know what’s going on, she keeps getting knocked unconscious and waking up in new places...

VYTHIAN: Yeah, I get knocked unconscious [inaudible]

DARKWICCAN: And she just sort of has to react to everything that is happening around her, which is great, that’s a great tactic to take as a writer to put your protagonist  in a position of constant reaction. But there is something to be said as well for giving us a peek behind the curtain and the audience giving us a view into the larger scenarios that are happening in the world that are affecting our protagonist but that our protagonist is unaware of.  It really does sort of open out the picture. I’m being very redundant. 

VYTHIAN: It’s okay, it’s nice to hear that it’s doing what I wanted it to do.

DELAYNE: Yes, that was some excellent interlude.  And I look forward to the future interludes.

DARKWICCAN: Ditto.

VYTHIAN: Someone summed it up that, “it’s really great to see that Nicole’s a nice great ship captain and that her crew just tolerates the fact that sometimes she’s too gay to function.”  And I laughed for twenty five minutes after, it was one of the funniest comments I’ve read in my entire life. That’s Nicole Haught, excellent pirate captain, too gay to function, most of the time. [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: We should make that into a shirt.

VYTHIAN: Totally, make it into a shirt, wear it to all the cons.

DELAYNE: One of my favorite bits so far, it’s Doc showing her around first right?

DARKWICCAN:  It’s Doc showing her around first.

DELAYNE: Yeah, and he’s like, “well I’m first mate” and then it’s Dolls showing her around and he’s like, “well I’m first mate” and she kind of goes… and she decides not to say anything.  So what was it, Nicole why did she opt to make them both first mate? Was she just keeping the peace? Eh, whatever, two’s fine.

VYTHIAN: The short answer is that Nicole thought it was hilarious. [everyone laughs].  She just thought it was funny as hell. I’m currently writing the next chapter and it’s taking forever but it’s getting there, and I’m going to have them talk about it a little bit but it’s not particularly spoilery at all, so the slightly longer story I love in canon that Nicole and Wynonna are essentially two sides of the same coin, they’re basically the same person with different  coping mechanisms and I wanted to show that a little bit, because I feel like sometimes, especially in writing I don’t utilize that as well as I could. So it’s safe to say that sometimes her uptightness tends to be a little bit of a coping mechanism and in a world where that wasn’t an option she would be a little more “go with the flow”. So Doc is one of her oldest friends and Dolls is one of her closest, and despite their bickering you know in canon that Doc and Dolls work really well together.  We saw that in Two Faced Jack pretty well. They bicker and they fight but they get shit done, it’s really great. I don’t know if I can curse on here, can I curse?

DARKWICCAN: You can totally fucking curse.

VYTHIAN: Good to know, great, but I like the idea of them both assuming that they have superiority and Nicole will absolutely indulge it as long as it doesn’t get in the way of running her ship or keeping her crew safe and on track.  Which knowing them, they like to do a good job so I don’t think it will ever be a problem, so they both think they’re first mate and they both are and are not, Schrodinger’s First Mate basically and it drives them absolutely bonkers but Nicole thinks it’s absolutely the funniest thing in the world.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs] “Schrodinger’s First Mate”

VYTHIAN: That’s what I’m calling it, yes, Schrodinger’s First Mate.

[everyone laughs a lot]

DARKWICCAN:  That is awesome, that’s hilarious. I’m actually tearing up I’m laughing so hard.

DELAYNE: I’m supposed to be the giggly one, what’s happening here?

DELAYNE: I do enjoy the parallel of it, “I’m the first mate, no, I’m the first mate.”

DARKWICCAN:  Some random sailor in the back stands up, “no I’m first mate!”

 

VYTHIAN: That story doesn’t even go here.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs] Oh my gosh.

VYTHIAN: I had two running jokes planned.  That, and Doc’s hats. Oh he’s going to steal so many.

DARKWICCAN: I just can see this thing happening where everybody pretends to be Spartacus to prove themselves a noble sacrifice.  I can just see Doc and Dolls trying to claim first mate for some noble death or whatever, in order to protect.

VYTHIAN: Oh, they totally would, they absolutely would.  Those lovable idiots, they, yeah.

DARKWICCAN:  Speaking of lovable idiots who aren’t really idiots per se but they’re kind of all over the place, Jeremy is adorable.

DELAYNE: Oh my gosh.

VYTHIAN: I love Jeremy, I love Jeremy so much.  I have a log with everyone’s jobs and Jeremy took me a while.  First I had him as the doctor, and then I had him as an engineer, doing bullets and deathy things. And again my beta helped me settle with cooking and assisting Rosita with making salves and ointments and things like that so he could learn and play and do food chemistry instead of, “let’s make bullets.”

DELAYNE: Regular chemistry.

VYTHIAN: Jeremy is so sweet and lovely.  Just give the boy a kitchen and let him make wonderful things.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes. I do love how you’ve taken the canon characters and given Nicole this crew of lovable misfits.

DELAYNE: That’s what the pirates were.

VYTHIAN: Most of the characters that have been made will appear at some point.  I have jobs for most of them already, some of them are just like… Bunny Loblaw I just have as “evil, question mark.”

DARKWICCAN: [laughs] I think that’s accurate, accurate.

DELAYNE: You see, I would probably just make her an actual bunny.

VYTHIAN: A little bitty rabbit hopping by just like, “huh, that’s Bunny Loblaw.”

DARKWICCAN: But it’ll be like, what’s the name of the rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

DELAYNE: The one with big nasty pointy teeth.  I don’t remember.

DARKWICCAN: That would be Bunny Loblaw.

VYTHIAN: It absolutely would, 100%.  The Monty Python Bunny.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

DELAYNE: Well, that was a random aside.  And now for something completely different.

DARKWICCAN:  Ah well, Vythian this has been a lot of fun, I think both Delayne and I could just sit here and chat pirates and yard sails all day long.  But unfortunately we have run out of time. Which means we are down to our final question which I think really is so appropriate for this topic.

DELAYNE: Alright, you are stranded on a desert island and have only one fic to read.  What is it?

VYTHIAN: Oh gosh, well okay, oh!  Haught on a Horse.  _ Open Range Hearts _ .

DARKWICCAN: Excellent choice, excellent excellent choice.

VYTHIAN: That is for sure my desert island fic.

DARKWICCAN: Haught on a Horse which I believe is by, if I recall correctly, Haughtscuffs.  Known on AO3 as thewaywedo33 but to the rest of us as Haughtscuffs. I am more than thrilled to recommend that as your desert island fic recommendation on our site, along with the rest of our show notes when this episode posts.  So fantastic, we can get our fair share of Pirate Captain Nicole Haught in your story  _ Show Me Where Your Loyalties Lie _ and Haught on a Horse by thewaywedo33 or Haughtscuffs.  Well, Vythian, thank you for coming on the show, it’s been a blast, and I hope that you continue to write and don’t get marooned in a plot hole.

VYTHIAN: Thank you this has been so much fun.

DARKWICCAN:  Yay! That’s what we hope for.

DELAYNE: Woohoo.

[MUSIC: ‘Don’t Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Maddigan’]

 

DARKWICCAN: And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.

 

Tremendous thanks to Vythian for joining us to chat today. 

  
  


Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

  
  


Background music for the episode was:

 

A Proper Story and Knights of the Sea  by Darren Korb

 

Read Em and Weep by Ryan Ike

 

and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

  
  


If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. 

 

And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.

 

And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

  
  


Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	15. Walk Like a Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week on the show DW and Delayne do their best drag king impressions as the chat about fics where Nicole goes undercover as a dude! Then they sit down with author Likeitmatters to discuss the Heart Series!

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/walk-like-a-man)

 

Read the Fics!

[The Bandit and The Barmaid](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14228088) by NotTilItsFinished (Pyrate0804)

 

[Wandering Hearts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12409446) by the_unicorn_empress

 

[The Heart Series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1170698) by Likeitmatters

 

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

Likeitmatters Desert Island Fic: [This Old House](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14829281) by coldmackerel

 

Episode Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [Mrs Blue Bacon](https://twitter.com/MrsBlueBacon)

 

EFA Episode 215- Walk Like a Man

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy, and welcome, everybody, to yet another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host DarkWiccan, and with me, painting on a five o’clock shadow and adjusting the gym sock in her shorts...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...is my friend and cohost-

 

DELAYNE : Hi, it’s Delayne. Wait, sorry. Hi, it’s Delayne. [said in a lower tone]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s right. [clears throat] We have to speak in a lower register today. I don’t know. I think I already sound enough like a guy, I don’t need to lower my voice any more, quite honestly.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, yeah, I definitely speak in a generally lower register than most women, but.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, but you still sound feminine. I don’t think I sound that feminine.

 

DELAYNE : I don’t, I, uh, ok. Sure, whatever. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, you think I sound feminine?

 

DELAYNE : You sound like DW, that’s what you sound like to me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. [laughter] You sound like yourself, damnit.

 

DELAYNE : Cool. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, why are we talking about this stuff?

 

DELAYNE : Yes, why are we?

 

DARKWICCAN : Because this week we are focusing on fics featuring Nicole Haught, specifically, trying to pass as a man, while not being, really, trans. Just, basically trying to pass as a man. In every instance of every story we’re talking about today, it’s the Old West, so it’s one of those “it’s safer to pretend to be a man than it is to be a woman, an open woman who clearly prefers the company of other women”. Also, just easier to be a man in that time, well, still it’s easier to be a man.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But you know what I’m saying. Like, exponentially easier to be a man in that time period. Than it was to be a woman.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, when uh, women, independent women were very rare, not that they didn’t happen, but it was certainly not as common, and it was just easier to get by.

 

DARKWICCAN : If you could get away with it, yeah. Because, if you got caught, as a woman trying to pass a man. You would most likely be killed. Jail time would definitely be involved if a, if you’re lucky. [laughter] If you’re lucky. You’d most likely be dead.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, so that is what the focus of today’s episode is about. It’s why we called it “Walk Like a Man”. And we do wanna be clear that we’re not talking about um, versions of Nicole Haught that are not female, ya know. How do I phrase this?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Help me out here.

 

DELAYNE : Where Nicole is a female strictly dressing as a male simply to get by.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, there you go. Perfect. Exactly. That. That doesn’t mean, especially in the first story we’re gonna talk about. That the character of Nicole doesn’t experience some sort of gender dysphoria, um, but it’s not, it’s one of those things where if you don’t know there’s any other option, you accept the fate that you’re given and you, ya know, live your best life, I guess.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, and I figured we would get to that. That is the one story that does differ just a little bit from the other two in this.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm, yeah, yeah. Hey, Happy New Year! [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE SEE EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, so enough about that, let’s dive into the meat and potatoes for this episode. Uh, the first fic we’re gonna talk about is called “The Bandit and the Barmaid”. It’s by NotTilItsFinished, also known as Pyrate, I think it’s just Pirate [ph].

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t know why. Pyrate0804.

 

DELAYNE : My science brain says that’s Pyrate.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right? Exactly. That is why [laughter], like I can’t decide they were thinking this would be just a quirky way to spell pirate, or if they’re referring to the mineral.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, I was gonna say, that’s an actual geology term. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, right? But you can absolutely just look it up by “The Bandit and the Barmaid” by NotTilItsFinished. And that’ll get you to the same place on A O 3. This, again, as all of our works today, takes place in the Old West. Eighteen eighties ish [ph]. Uh, and in this instance we have a Nicole who has lost her family, lost her father, and is now essentially on the run from the law. She got  involved with some um, not too nice people, got involved in a little horse thieving, and other kind of scrapes, and decided that was not the life for her, so she took off runnin’ and found herself in this little western town of Purgatory, where she managed to land a job as a deputy under Sheriff Nedley.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : All while in the guise of the male version of herself, Cole Haught.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, do we actually have, no, we’ve got two Nicolas’, this one’s just Cole.

 

DARKWICCAN : This one’s just Cole, yeah. Ya know what, for ease of language, I think I’m going to use they/them pronouns, if that’s ok.

 

DELAYNE : Works for me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, great. Uh, so, so Cole lands in Purgatory, as I said. Takes up a position as deputy under Sheriff Nedley, and immediately hits it off with Waverly Earp, because of course.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And um...

 

DELAYNE : Well, Waverly is the one who tells Cole, like “hey, there’s uh, the Sheriff’s looking for a deputy if you are interested in finding work, and maybe perhaps stickin’ around ‘cause you’re cute”.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s. Yeah. Eyebrow waggle, sway of the hips.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Waverly is instantly interested in this young Cole Haught that has come to town. And, something that I love, that is consistent throughout, is that whether they are masquerading as Cole or Nicolas, uh, they are always very gentlemanly.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And really, the perfect gentleman, which you can only kind of get if that gentleman happened to actually be a lady.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, because uh, wait, we don’t actually have Champ in this one do we.

 

DARKWICCAN : We don’t have Champ in this one. Thankfully.

 

DELAYNE : They mention him briefly, like her last, Waverly’s last suitor was terrible, but that was like the only hint.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Mhmm. Well, what I thought was really interesting was how quickly everyone was totally fine once Cole’s identity was discovered. Um, everyone was like, “alright”. [laughter] “We like you, it’s ok.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s like, that’s a little fantastical, but I’ll take it.

 

DELAYNE : Well, the author actually writes, and I think this is very true about society, in that, it, um, as individuals, individuals are more accepting, it’s when they’re in a group...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...that it becomes a problem. Um, and of course that was, Cole was outed to the entire family. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. So that’s a group dynamic, that’s not one on one situation.

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, that’s what I’m saying, I think it’s really interesting that everyone was like “alright” and they continued to address Cole as a man. And um, so I thought that was really, really unique and special. And I won’t say it’s unbelievable, because it is believable to a point, and I think you then allow yourself to embrace your disbelief. Or, what’s it called?

 

DELAYNE : Suspension.

 

DARKWICCAN : Suspend your disbelief. If you embrace it, it’s the opposite. You suspend your disbelief. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s the first day back at work, it’s January second as we’re recording this.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m [laughter]. It’s officially twenty nineteen. We’ve been teasing in all the previous episodes that it wasn’t twenty nineteen for us yet, but it is now officially twenty nineteen. I am knocked for a loop.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ok, as a person who has been awake for way too long today, am I more prepared than you? Now I’m thrown for a loop.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] No, I think that we’re equally prepared.

 

DELAYNE : In different ways.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, in different ways, and we’re kind of buoying each other up. Which, yeah, as good cohosts do.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but yeah, so they accept Cole very quickly, and uh, it’s funny to me, as I was sitting back rereading it. I was like “ya know what, this follows about the same amount of time as tigerlo’s story ‘find a home, lonely heart’ follows.”

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, it’s, it’s like, where, where it took two hundred ninety thousand words...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...for tigerlo to get there because that is her...

 

DELAYNE : Style.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...her style is very languid and romantic, and very, ya know, lush, and um, takes its time. This was a bit more snappy, like, “and this happened and then this happened and this happened”. But it doesn’t feel unearned. It definitely feels earned and uh, the emotion between them definitely feels valid and real and I just, again, I know I keep coming back to this, but I just love the fact that they’re, essentially, found family is immediately accepting of the situation. And as we kind of touched on in the intro to this show, this is the only one of the three stories we’re talking about today, where Cole, or the Nicole character, states that they don’t feel that they’re supposed to be in their female body. So, there is definitely that element of gender dysphoria. There is gender, ya know, non-conforming, uh, going on, uh and so that is different and unique to the other stories that we’re talking about. Now it’s not heavy handed at all, it’s not like NotTilItsFinished is hammering on this, it’s just one of those like “and this is a fact about me” kind of thing that Nicole/Cole shares. So.

 

DELAYNE : I think it’s uh, really well done. When I came across that when reading, you’re right. It’s not like heavy handed, but it’s still deep and meaningful and very valid, but also not super heavy and it’s, it really is interesting because if it had been a different time period and Cole had options, um, it’s entirely possible Cole would actually transition to be a man.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah, in that case this would definitely be a more trans Cole situation, and not just a gender dysphoric Cole who dresses as a man to survive, but also because that feels more in-line with their identity.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I love the fact that Waverly is so supportive of them and that she does what she can to help alleviate some of that dysphoria, which I just think is great.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, that’s another, those few lines that were like, when Cole says “you”, when Cole says to Waverly that they have, they are finally more accepting of their body because of Waverly and her acceptance.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, mhmm. Oh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, it’s so sweet.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, but yeah, [laughter] so, yeah, I don’t wanna, I think we’ve dwelled on plenty on this one. That’s “The Bandit and the Barmaid” by NotTilItsFinished. It is rated explicit, so be aware of the rating, um, but it is very sweet, and it’s a well thought out and excellently executed story.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. So, next, let’s talk about “Wandering Hearts” by the_unicorn_empress. And this one, uh, is a, well, it’s  _ Deadwood _ inspired, it’s connected to the Civil War, but it’s still the wild west, eighteen sixties.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And this Nicole, or Nicholas Haught Junior, uh, joins, dresses as a man and joins the Civil War with her brother.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : But then we move forward to, uh, after ‘cause her brother did not make it, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : And she feels responsible.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, so she takes off and, ya know, moves from town to town, and finally finds a job as a deputy in Purgatory. I sense a theme here. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] Well, only, well, yeah. Yes, a little bit.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes a little bit.

 

DELAYNE : And I like, I like this one ‘cause Waverly, Waverly had been away. She went to school on the east coast to Mount Holyoke, which is a womens’ college, one of the Seven Sisters.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm

 

DELAYNE : Uh, she comes back to take over the ranch. So, we actually have, kind of, a few things that we’ve seen before, but in a very different way.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And uh, the first time Nicole and Waverly meet, Champ is harassing Waverly ‘cause she’s back into town. And he’s like...

 

DARKWICCAN : Argh.

 

DELAYNE : …[laughter] he’s being Champ. [laughter] I love the noises that you make.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, he’s drunk and he’s slobbering all over here. He’s drunk and he’s slobbering all over her, and he’s like “why did you say no when I asked you?” [faking a drunk sob] And she’s like “‘cause, like, have you seen you?” [laughter] Ya know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s not what she says, but that’s the feeling that you get.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, that’s very much it. Uh, yeah, Waverly can stand her own in this and uh, yeah, so Nicholas Haught Junior, the new deputy, chases him off. And then from there, I don’t have as many notes other than Doc is a horse. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yes. Doc is a horse.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Doc is Waverly’s horse. I love the fact that Doc only likes Waverly. Definitely doesn’t like men when men groom him or try to approach him, and, and, and tolerates other characters, but I don’t wanna give anything away.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But, I just love that, and I love the fact that he’s very, kind of, what’s the word I’m looking for, proud. He’s a very proud stallion.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And uh, if you can imagine a horse preening.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I can, actually, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I just love that. Yeah, and, and I also love the fact that Waverly sees right through [cough] Nicholas’ disguise.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Like right away. Like, not even for a second being fooled. She doesn’t say anything because she’s polite and she’s a lady and she’s not gonna call him out, or call them out on it, but she sees right through it. She is fine with that. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Because she came to certain discoveries about herself while she was away at Mount Holyoke.

 

DELAYNE : Which many, many women have discovered at Mount Holyoke. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Past, present, and future.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, uh, so yeah, so, I just think it’s really funny that both in this story, and also kind of in, uh, “[The] Bandit and the Barmaid”, Waverly sort of sees through things, or she gets to the truth of the matter very quickly.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, so, but I just love the fact that she sees through right through the rouse immediately. Did not, you’re not pulling one over on her. I just thought that was fantastic.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And I love how much of a spitfire, I mean Waverly is a spitfire. It’s a character trait, but like, she, I mean...

 

DELAYNE : She’s extra spitfire-y in this one.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...the_unicorn_empress, yeah, the_unicorn_empress really embraces that notion and just runs with it. And I’ve never seen  _ Deadwood _ ...

 

DELAYNE : Nor have I.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...but I have no trouble, oh you haven’t?

 

DELAYNE : No. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But I have no trouble picturing the, ya know, the Old West town of Purgatory. No trouble picturing, ya know, the dust in the air, and the prairie dresses and ya know, all of that, in this, and um, only six, only six chapters in, out of thirty so far. So, gotta ways to go to see what happens.

 

DELAYNE : No, it’s unfinished and I have so many questions. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Yes, but unfortunately we’ll have to wait til there’s a little bit more to get some answers, I guess.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, but yeah, so that’s “Wandering Hearts” by the_unicorn_empress. Off to a fantastic start. There’s been a little bit of a delay since the last chapter was posted in August of twenty eighteen. I have no doubt that the_unicorn_empress is gonna return to this story, clearly they have a plan, they know where they’re going, otherwise they wouldn’t have forecast the...

 

DELAYNE : Thirty chapters?

 

DARKWICCAN : ...quantity of chapters and everything. So, yeah, check it out, “Wandering Hearts” by the_unicorn_empress. Which brings us to our final fic of the day. And really it’s fics because this is a series. Um, so the final two stories for today is part of a series called the Heart Series by Likeitmatters, and this takes place during the Gold Rush, during the Klondike Gold Rush.

 

DELAYNE : Which I did look that up. It um, they found the gold in eighteen ninety-six, and so eighteen ninety-seven to eighteen ninety-eight...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...was the bulk of the uh, the majority of the prospectors rushing up there. And it petered out in ninety-nine, when they moved on to Alaska.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Yeah, and it’s interesting in that uh, this is actually a period of time that I know a little bit more about.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t claim to be an expert by any stretch.

 

DELAYNE : Neat.

 

DARKWICCAN : But living here in Seattle...

 

DELAYNE : Oh.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...the Gold Rush basically helped to establish Seattle. Both the one in the Klondike and the one in Alaska that followed it. So, um, there’s actually walking tours in downtown Seattle that gives you the history of the Gold Rush and how it affected Seattle.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, neat.

 

DARKWICCAN : None of the story, except the very first chapter, really take place in Seattle.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] But that’s ok, that’s alright.

 

DELAYNE : They’re on a boat, that’s it. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : They’re on a boat. The story starts off and Nicolas is a lone prospector, and um, Nicolas is of course Nicole, pretending to be a man. Fully embracing her identity as a woman, but pretending to be a man because this is the only way that she can live independently. Hopefully strike some gold, make a little money, and eventually buy some land, and establish a ranch.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s her dream. So, she is a solo prospector, heading to the Klondike for the Gold Rush where she happens to meet, in Seattle, as they’re boarding the first boat to, heading North, she meets young Mrs Waverly Hardy. [gross sound]

 

DELAYNE : [gross sound] [laughter] Yeah. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so, so, just Champ is her husband [trails off]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, Champ is a dick and of course because this is a WayHaught story, you don’t have to worry about him for too many chapters. He is around, he is a douche, he is a pain in the ass, um, he does cause problems because he, he’s Champ.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] And he’s very suspicious of this young man who seems to take a liking to his wife.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, he doesn’t appreciate that, and I don’t think he appreciates the fact that, as much as she’s not vocal about it, it’s clear that Waverly has a little bit of an eye on this young man, as well. But, I don’t care about Champ. Let’s not talk about Champ. Champ is [raspberry sound].

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Let’s talk about the historical figures that the author, Likeitmatters, has roped into this, including...

 

DELAYNE : Are you gonna be, gonna be talking about Mister Jack London? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...Jack London, yeah. The American novelist. Who, if you’re not familiar with, uh, he wrote “The Call of the Wild” and “White Fang”. Both of them are set during the Klondike Gold Rush, and so, so, Jack London meets Nicolas slash Nicole and the Hardy’s and he sort of becomes part of their traveling group. And Jack is a great guy. Now, was he a great guy in reality, I don’t know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I just know he wrote books and settled in San Francisco, and had a wife. Like, that’s, that’s honestly my extent, and I got that from the first paragraph of his Wikipedia entry.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I’m not like claiming to be this literary, ya know, historical literary expert, by any stretch of the imagination. Anyway, anyway, side track, sidetrack. Jack London is an amazing character in this story, and I just adore him. He becomes Nicolas’ best bud, and when Champ inevitably...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...is no more, they end up making it to the Klondike without Champ. Yay.

 

DELAYNE : Yay. [said at the same time as DarkWiccan}

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Uh. So...

 

DELAYNE : And there’s not very many claims left.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...yeah, no, there’s not very many claims left. To the point, Jack and Nicolas slash Nicole decide to go in on a claim together.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Just because that way, at least, they’re guaranteed something, right. But otherwise there’s not a guarantee that they’re gonna get each their own claim. So, Jack’s a good guy, trustworthy guy. Nicolas is a trustworthy guy, and they go in on the claim together. And there’s Waverly, and she’s like “well”...

 

DELAYNE : Who’s like, “uh, I guess I’m gonna go home.”

 

DARKWICCAN : ...of course, Nicolas gets all sad, sad panda...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and then Waverly’s like “ya know what, no, I don’t wanna go home. I wanna stay here and I’m going to cook for you guys, and help out at the, on the share and we’ll just, yeah I’ll stay here.” So, they build her a little house. And so she stays. And then, oh my God! Ok, here’s the problem. I can’t talk about the second story if I don’t talk about this plot point. Do you know what I’m talking about?

 

DELAYNE : When they actually find some gold? Wait, what?

 

DARKWICCAN : So, they’ve been on the site...

 

DELAYNE : Oh!

 

DARKWICCAN : ...panning for gold for about a month, and Waverly’s not feeling too great. And so they go and see...

 

DELAYNE : Yes, that is a very important plot point isn’t it?

 

DARKWICCAN : ...yeah, yeah. They go to see the local medicine woman, Gus McCready.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, I love, love that Gus, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Love it, yes. And Gus thinks, well Gus diagnoses the problem...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and thinks that Nicolas is Waverly’s husband, so she turns to Nicolas and goes “congratulations, you’re gonna be a father.” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Woo. Wait, what?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, now, I, obviously I can’t talk about the second story if I don’t give that bit away.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Now, I’m not gonna give anything else away about the “Heart of Gold” story.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Things get very angsty, at one point.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, wow.

 

DARKWICCAN : Like, terrifyingly.

 

DELAYNE : It is a rollercoaster.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. And you have people, ya know, surprise people showing up.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s not Champ, don’t worry. Champ is gone.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] And Nicole is not the deputy this time.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nicole is not the deputy this time.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Nedley is still Sheriff. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : But Nicole is not a deputy this time. Nicole is too busy working their share. It gets really scary at one point, like really scary you guys. And of course it gets resolved and we move onto the second story, “Heart Strong”. But I don’t want to give anything away, like, what happens. I already had to drop a major bomb in order to move onto the next story, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So that moves us to “Heart Strong”. Now, “Heart Strong” is the sequel to “Heart of Gold”, obviously. It is twenty-five chapters in length at the time of this recording. Twenty-four have been posted. By the time this airs, all twenty-five will have been posted. This story will probably have been over for about a month, but essentially this is what happens after the Klondike. Um, they manage to find enough gold that they’re able to buy a little bit of land outside of the San Francisco Bay area and establish a little ranch and at this point, ya know, Waverly and Nicole slash Nicolas are solid couple, they’re presenting as a cis-gendered married couple, with their son, um, Nicky, and so, so now we have a different dynamic. We’re out of the Klondike and now we’re on to ranch, [stutters] the world of ranching.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And now they are out of that heavy, intense environment of the Klondike, where everything is kind of by the skin of your teeth.

 

DELAYNE : Extreme. It’s all about the extreme.

 

DARKWICCAN : Extreme, yeah. You’re living in these extremes, and now they’re having to settle into, sort of, typical married life on a ranch.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, now...

 

DELAYNE : With a child.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...with a child, so now we’re dealing with that relationship dynamic and how does that evolve and what sort of little dramas pop up, or major dramas pop up in that type of scenario. And, I gotta tell you, Likeitmatters does such a great job of keeping you on your toes. Like, honestly, I was completely shocked when a certain character showed up and started causing problems. I was like “where did this person come from? Oh, wait, that makes total sense. Ah crap.” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : There are times when you wanna grab Nicole by the shoulders and shake ‘em. Like, “you idiot. All you have to do is talk to your wife. If you talk to your wife you wouldn’t be in trouble right now.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter throughout]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, ya know, it’s...

 

DELAYNE : That’s solid advice for most anyone.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that’s solid advice, yeah. Communication is key for a healthy, and long life relationship, people. So, I don’t wanna give anything away for “Heart Strong”. It’s a fast paced read, it’s really good, it’s the sequel to “Heart of Gold”. I love this series so much. I really hope that Likeitmatters continues on with a third part. Please, please, please. Putting it out there. Shooting it up into the world, into the sky, into the universe. Please! Please! If nothing else, give us little one-shots, I don’t care.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I love the Heart universe so much. And I’m so excited because we get to...

 

DELAYNE : Hey.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...ask Likeitmatters questions about this amazing series.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Definitely look forward to that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Yeah, for our second segment today, we will be talking to uh, Likeitmatters, about this amazing series, the Heart Series, featuring “Heart of Gold” and “Heart Strong”. 

 

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE SEE EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC : Home by Alec Holowka

 

DARKWICCAN : And welcome back everybody, to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host DarkWiccan, and with me is my amazing cohost--

 

DELAYNE : Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are so excited to have with us right now, the author of the incredible series that we discussed last in our previous segment, the Heart Series, featuring the stories “Heart of Gold” and “Heart Strong”, Likeitmatters, who would like us to call them Lu today. Lu, welcome to the show.

 

LU : Glad to be here.

 

DARKWICCAN : Let me tell ya, I fangirled so hard on this story, in the previous segment.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It was almost embarrassing. I love this series so [sing song] much. It’s kind of insane.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, you can tell by my giggling that she’s not lying here.

 

LU : I think she was always first to respond on any chapter. Especially, thank you so much for being my impromptu beta reader.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : When I just threw up chapters, and you were like “uh, did you mean to do this?” Nope.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re welcome. Well, it was always just like one, like one mistake in the entire chapter, but it would be one of those mistakes where it’s like “I think that’s a mistake.”

 

LU : Yeah, you’re reading along and like “CLANK!” Like, oh yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] But, yeah, so I am absolutely thrilled that you agreed to come on the show today.

 

LU : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, thank you so much.

 

LU : Oh, thank you. Thank you for having me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Oh, please. My pleasure.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely. Ok, so how did you get started in writing?

 

LU : Uh, I’ve, I’ve always written, always been creative. Just, ya know, I love to create anything. I mean, stained glass, remodel bathrooms, whatever. Um, but writing...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : ...I know, right? I love to create and writing is something that I can do um, ya know, at any time. I don’t know, I’ve always written. Always written. I’m sure you guys know, this small series called  _ Xena _ .

 

DARKWICCAN : Little thing.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : That little thing called  _ Xena _ . Yeah. Um, kinda was into that. Read that. Did a little bit of uber  _ Xena _ fanfiction, back in the day.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh. [with inflection]

 

LU : Yeah, so. No idea where any of those stories are, but, ya know, kinda fun.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : And, I don’t know, I guess, I’ve always written. Something will spark my interest and wake me up in the middle of the night, so I’ll just stop and start writing. So, ya know, fanfiction is easy. Ya know, you’ve got your characters and their traits and personalities, flaws, and it’s kinda fun to plug them into different scenarios. So, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, what about  _ Wynonna Earp _ inspired you...

 

LU : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...to sit down and start writing fanfiction.

 

LU : Um, ya know, I was just kind of literally flipping channels, and it must have been kismet, serendipity, whatever, ‘cause I um, no, wait, it was on YouTube, that’s right, it was on YouTube. Because I hadn’t gone into it until the uh, the second season had aired. Um, so I was on YouTube, and ya know, some lesbian content came up and, the bar scene, the very first Haught and Waverly interaction. And at first I’m like “oh my Lord this is cheesy”, but then I started...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : ...seeing the chemistry, ya know. I’m like “wow, this might be something’” Uh, so I ended up, of course, binging and then like, “oh wait a minute. I wonder if they have some fanfiction I can look at?” And sure enough, I’m like “oh, ok, well, I’ll try my hand at it.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : But yeah, it’s like honestly, it’s like, they just have such great chemistry. It’s just really, it’s fun to watch and, ya know, as an older lesbian, um, it’s fun to see representation.

 

DARKWICCAN : As we all are.

 

LU : Yeah, right.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : It’s fun to see representation, how far it’s come. So.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, man, right. Going from subtext.

 

LU : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Even to blaring subtext.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

 

DARKWICCAN : To the overt, main texty-ness of WayHaught. Where they are constantly taking standard, straight couple tropes and going, “ok, let’s just make it gay now.” [laughter]

 

LU : Right, right, and I love that. Ya know, it’s awesome. It’s really fun to watch.

 

DELAYNE : It is.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is a lot of fun.

 

DELAYNE : I am so glad that you decided to find it on YouTube and binge and write.

 

LU : [laughter] Yeah, it’s fun.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LU : And between, literally between remodeling projects, I’ll, I’ll um, get some time and sit down, and literally, once I start, a lot of times I start something, it will not leave my head until I write it down, so. Ya know, I find myself late picking up my son, “sorry honey”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LU : He’s understanding. He likes to write, too, which is good. He likes to write literature.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, good.

 

LU : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. Whew.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, he gets it. He’s like “I get it. I know, Mom.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : He does. He does. It’s very cute.

 

DARKWICCAN : The muse wants what it wants.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Yeah, yeah. I gotta sit down, kid. Do your thing.

 

DELAYNE : Very true. Uh, [laughter] but let’s get down to the heart [pause] of the story.

 

LU : [laughter] Nice.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey-o.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Um, in your notes, you say that uh, the Klondike Rush story, here is the story that won overwhelmingly, so I guess I missed the poll. Where was this at and what were the other options?

 

LU : Ok, alright. So, I looked at that question, like “oh, right”. Jogged my memory. So, I wrote a story before that, “Purgatory”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah. That’s right.

 

LU : And. Yeah. Thank you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : I had to go back. Chapter eighteen, that’s when you could tell I was starting to think about it. And, I put either Klondike Gold Rush story or like a filler between season three and four. Like an episodic thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mm.

 

LU : [clears throat] Yeah, so, ya know, everybody responded and it was overwhelmingly, ninety percent, but I’m not sure of that statistic. But for, ya know...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You didn’t actually run the numbers.

 

LU : I’m sorry, I almost did. I almost did for you. But.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : No, but it was like ya know, ten to one, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : So, yeah, I was like “ok, I’m gonna do that”. And I’m such a history buff, I love history. Any kind of history, it doesn’t matter. So, I’m like “ok, cool. I know a lot about the California gold rush. But um, ya know, Klondike, chance for me to do research.” Um, my son, actually, happened to be reading uh, “Call of the Wild”. That’s how [unintelligible]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, ok.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] We might come back around to that.

 

LU : Yeah, yeah, yeah. But anyway, yeah, so it’s like, kinda like “ok, mhmm, do, it’s like ok” and then um, I think I had recently watched  _ The Ballad of Little Jo _ about, ya know, the woman pretending to be a man, and I’m like “ok, I can put this together.” And, that’s how that happened.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s fantastic. And I love the setup for the story. I particularly enjoy that they set out, after the prologue, they set out from Seattle, ‘cause that’s where I am. And I’m like “hey [sing song], I know local history, that’s exciting.”

 

LU : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ”They didn’t spend enough time in Seattle to get into that…”

 

LU : Sorry. Just a waypoint. Sorry about that.

 

DARKWICCAN : “...but that’s ok.” No worries, no worries, no worries. But I was like “ooh, Seattle, yay.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you have it set up that Champ and Waverly are married at the start of this story, and so that creates an instant obstacle there. Now, I’ll admit, I am not a Champ fan, in general, so I was thrilled to see him go.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That being said, was it difficult to decide to kill Champ? Like, were you, did you go back and forth on that. Like “do I kill him or do I just get rid of him some other way?” Or was it really the only way that you could see to getting Nicole and Waverly together, ultimately?

 

LU : Um, no, actually, I wasn’t going to kill him outright, ya know, I had a couple different variations I was playing with. Ya know, I had to think, do I want this three hundred word story, or something I knew I could handle in a timely manner, and so I went from him, uh, ya know, kind of going in on a claim with Nicole and then gambling his part away, [laughter] and Waverly would have to take another job and eventually ya know he’d be killed by ya know, gamblers. All sorts of stuff, but as, sometimes as I write, things just, I mean, they write themselves before I even know what I’m writing. I’m like, “ok, I guess Champ’s dying today.” 

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : [laughter] But, it was within character, ya know, it’s like, ok, he really, truly is an idiot.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : He’s a typical man of the age, “I can do it on my own” and he just had visions of grandeur, like “I’m gonna do it” and uh, and yeah, it made it a little bit, I guess, easier of a transition. I mean, honestly, there’s so many things I could go through, so many different subplots and everything in this story. I mean, it literally boiled down to, I’m a very efficient, concise person, even for a pisces, I know.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LU : But, I, I’m, I like to be very, I guess, I don’t know, I don’t, when you were talking about tangents. And I’m like “oh, I don’t tangent at all”, [laughter] [unintelligible]...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : ...very like, even my friends are like, “you don’t talk a lot, but when you do, it’s good.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : “Well, thanks.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LU : I’m a listener, so, that was almost a tangent, wasn’t it?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, good. Good job.

 

DARKWICCAN : Keep going.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Congratulations.

 

LU : Yeah, so, ya know, after, out of all those variations, um I decided he’s gonna die on the Yukon.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s so funny ‘cause there were a couple of times up until he actually bites it, where it just seemed like “oh, he’s gonna die.”

 

LU : I know, I know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And then he didn’t, and it was like “goddamnit, why didn’t he die?” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : I know, and then when he died, some people were like “oh, oh he’s, oh, you killed him.” Well, duh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LU : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, you were definitely pulling me along a couple times...

 

LU : Cool.

 

DELAYNE : ...I’m like “yeah, we’re finally gonna be rid of Champ. Oh crap, he’s still here.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LU : The magic of writing. Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : You did it so well, too.

 

LU : Oh, thank you.

 

DELAYNE : I was so sure.

 

LU : Alright, cool.

 

DARKWICCAN : Me too. Me too.

 

LU : Well, there were several instances where people wanted, would want to kill somebody like that. Just to get them off the trail.

 

DELAYNE : Ah, yeah. And that would, that was quite the trail, um, so, I wanna know more about the research that did go into this. So, it sounds like you did know a lot about California and uh, uh, you had some, the universe was giving you some ideas about the Klondike, it sounds like.

 

LU : Yeah, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : So, what, what, how involved in the research were you?

 

LU : Um, I did a lot of, I mean, reading and I did an audio book. I was on a, driving, a roadtrip, I can’t even remember where right now ‘cause my brain is just frazzled. But, I listened to an audiobook on women of the Klondike, which was extremely helpful.

 

DELAYNE : Oh.

 

LU : Yeah. Right?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : And then, um, just ya know, reading various stuff, watching documentaries, um, ya know, a long time ago in college, I think I read, um, ya know, I think it was a comparison between the Klondike and the California gold rush, um, so yeah, I mean, I would say a few hours of research and.

 

DELAYNE : And it sounds like different media too, not just...

 

LU : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...stared at a Wikipedia page like I did real quick. [laughter]

 

LU : Yeah, I mean, there was some visiting of Wikipedia pages. I wanted to get um, ya know, things, uh, accurate for the time. I’m like “ok, did they use this, did they, ok.” I learned some fascinating, like the use of honey as an antibacterial and all sorts of natural remedies. I’m like “well shoot, that’s pretty cool.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : So, ya know, I learned some life lessons as well.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you made the decision to have Waverly fall pregnant…

 

LU : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...unknowingly, by Champ. Obviously it would have to be by Champ.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Was that decision a matter of upping the ante or are you just more of a sucker for family fics like me?

 

LU : Well, it’s both. I mean...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : ...definitely, definitely ya know, upped the ante for sure. It made Nicole act, ya know, and yeah, I love family fics. It’s just, ya know, kids. They’re fun to write and they add just another element uh, so...

 

DELAYNE : [clears throat]

 

LU : ...mostly it was upping the ante. Childbirth, and kids surviving wasn’t, especially there, ya know, certainly wasn’t a given, so I had to put in some drama.

 

DARKWICCAN : And you say that it drove Nicole to action, to sort of, confess her feelings for Waverly a bit earlier...

 

LU : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...than maybe she would have, was that also because you were getting frustrated by how long things were taking between them, or?

 

LU : Um, maybe subconsciously, I, I didn’t really think of that. Um, but probably, I mean. Ya know, again, like I said, there’s, I could have probably stretched it out to three hundred thousand words, and uh, ya know, gone all through this, back and forth, and “I don’t know, I don’t know”, but, really, it’s just, I guess it has to do with my personality. I’m very like “bam bam bam bam” ya know, know what I want, very decisive, things like that. So, I think that kinda comes out in my writing, as well. Um, uh, ya know, it was something, she cared so deeply for her, ya know, at that point, it’s like, ya know, “I know her husband just died, but ya know, she’s pregnant out here in the wilderness, ya know, I have this need to take care of her, ya know, it’s gonna be hard for her, and ya know, in the meantime, kind of ya know, if I, ya know, let my feelings go, even though I’ve got this, ya know, incredible secret,” um, ya know, I think she didn’t, she probably didn’t realize ya know, the depth of Waverly’s feelings for her, so she kinda thought, “well, ya know, we can kinda fake it up here while we’re in the Klondike”, but then it turned being that she really hoped Waverly felt the same. And then Wynonna came and threw another bomb in, so. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that pissed me off, so, so badly.

 

LU : I know, I know.

 

DARKWICCAN : I wanted to smack Wynonna, so hard, it’s like “you don’t do that. You don’t out somebody like that. What the freakin’ hell, man?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, excellent, excellent writing there.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Yeah, you know what, in the show, sometimes, she drives me nuts, and so I think that came out in my writing. Yay. Ok. Yeah, so, yeah, it’s like I think it’s something impulsively she would do because she’s so protective of her sister, but then once she sees the damage she’s done, she’s like “oh”.

 

DARKWICCAN : I done fucked up, y’all. [in southern accent]

 

LU : Yeah, I love that I made her have to rely on Nicole to get her set up in the Klondike, ya know, she had to...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. That was uh, that was a nice bit of tea.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Ya know, come back, hat in hand.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : “Sorry.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah, so Wynonna was a great addition. Another great addition was uh, was Mr. Jack London himself.

 

LU : Right? Another like totally, like...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : ...I wrote him, I’m like “ok, I’m gonna have a handsome man that is kinda going to be uh, ya know somebody for Nicole to lean on. Just almost like a go-between. Between Waverly and Nicole” um, and it just turned out. Again...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : ...my son was reading “Call of the Wild”, his name was Jack, and then, um, I remembered I looked at the back of the cover and was like “he is handsome”.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : So, I’m gonna write that all in, right? That’s gonna be Jack London, that handsome Jack that I just wrote.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Um, but yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Ok, so you had created that figure in the first place, and then he had become Jack London, not that you had...

 

LU : Correct, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...just decided to. Ok. Uh, it was...

 

LU : Is that less impressive, or? [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Uh, no, it was really well done. I’m impressed either way. ‘Cause it’s a good story.

 

LU : Oh, thank you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Thank you. He was, uh, he turned out to be a lot more important than I anticipated him to be, actually. Um, ya know, he was just gonna fade away, right? And then, but it turned out he was, ya know, I think Nicole needed somebody, ya know, especially with uh, ya know, somebody underst...and he really was. He was a socialist, very progressive in real life, so I figured, ok, I’m just gonna run with that. So, yeah, it was, yeah he turned out to be very important.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, I thought so too. I thought it was rather surprising. It seemed like when he was first introduced, like “oh yeah”, you don’t expect him to be around long just like a cameo. “Hi guys, I’m a famous person.”

 

LU : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : And then with as important as he became to the story...

 

LU : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...it was a nice surprise.

 

LU : Yeah, yeah. I thought it was fun. Especially the way he uh, he found out about Nicole, I thought was really cool.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : I thought, I’ve just, I just had that whole thing pictured in my mind. And the whole, oh yeah. It was pretty funny.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that sequence played out so well.

 

LU : Oh, good.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, it’s one of those things where when you first read it, it’s not funny.

 

LU : Right, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s like, “oh God.” But then when you get away from it and you get past that point to where Jack is basically completely accepting and totally, essentially cool with the whole deal.

 

LU : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : I love the line where he’s like “of course you’re the best man I’ve ever met, because you’re not a man.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : [laughter] Yeah, right?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So once you get to that point and you look back on it, yeah it is actually pretty funny.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : I think I made some little quip about, about her, how well endowed she was or something. Jack said something about something, I can’t remember, but it was kind of a little...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : …”Yeah, I’ve seen her and yeah, you’re gonna like what you see” or something, I don’t know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly, yeah, basically…

 

LU : A man line.

 

DARKWICCAN : …”I’m expecting to see this scrawny...

 

LU : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...ya know, young man. Instead I see this shapely, lovely woman, ya know.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : [bell sound]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Exactly. Eyebrow waggle.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Yeah. Exactly.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, Lu, this has been a wonderful chat. I am, again, so over the moon that you said yes when I asked if you wanted...

 

LU : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...to come on the show.

 

DELAYNE : DW, I can hear you smiling, in your voice right now.

 

DARKWICCAN : You can hear me smiling, yeah, I am.

 

DELAYNE : You are beyond excited.

 

DARKWICCAN : I am cheesing pretty hard right now. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Aww, thanks.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I, I know that you just wrapped up the story “Heart Strong” and that essentially wraps the series, but I really, I am so hopeful that you continue on in one-shots because I don’t wanna let these versions of the characters go. I love them so much.

 

LU : Yeah, yeah. I mean, certainly, like when I, I’m like, “I still have to deal with Carter” and something that’s been niggling in the back of my mind too, um, is uh, I think I mentioned, ya know, down in the future, ya know, uh, when Nicky is a young man, like the World War Two comes and ya know, there’s some [clears throat] a lot of drama I can write with that and uh, yeah, I was thinking about something with the dogs, something cute and fluffy as Nicky grows up, so yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : There’s, it’s still brewing, it’s still like, “you’re not done, you’re not done with us.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Here’s a question for you then.

 

LU : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : You just mentioned World War Two, wouldn’t it be World War One?

 

LU : That’s what I meant, yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : That’s what I said, World War One.

 

DARKWICCAN : ‘Cause I was about to ask, “wait, what year is it?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : They would be so, yeah, they’d be really old.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : He would be home doing the victory garden with uh, with ya know, Grandpa Nicolas.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

LU : No, World War One, for sure.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and boy what a...

 

LU : And that’s the thing, yeah, I know a ton about World War Two, not a ton about World War One, so, obviously another opportunity for me to do some research. Uh, so there, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and I mean, both wars were absolutely beyond the human like ability to wrap your mind around...

 

LU : Mhmm. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...devastation, but World War One was just utterly, viciously horrible, so um, as far as uh, loss of lives amongst the uh, the um, soldiers and what no. It was, I mean, this was the first time chemical warfare came into play, so.

 

LU : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, and, ya know, tanks instead of, taking horses. I mean [shiver sound], if you [shiver sound] [laughter].

 

DELAYNE : You ok there, DW?

 

LU : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m just thinking about warhorse and it hurt, it hurt my heart for a second.

 

LU : Oh, yeah, yeah, it was, yeah, very much more brutal, I know what you’re saying, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, so, woof. Uh, it’s horrible and awful and I would love a one-shot [laughter] of that.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Ok.

 

DELAYNE : Out of context, that sentence. [laughter]

 

LU : I could take, I could do this for years, I don’t know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey, please do. I encourage this strongly.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’ll keep coming at you with prompts, no problem.

 

LU : [laughter] Yeah, I mean, I’ve got a few in the works, um, I gotta take some time here and do some things, parent, things like that, but uh.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : He’s going back to school, thank God.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LU : Woo. I actually have his gaming set on my head right now, this is what I’m using.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : I had to pry it off his head.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Mama needs it. Anyway.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LU : Yeah, so, there, there, there’s some in the, some in the works, for sure.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice.

 

LU : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome. Well, before we let you go to start working on those one-shots...

 

LU : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...we do have one more question that we have to ask.

 

DELAYNE : Alright, so you are stranded on a desert island and can only have one fanfic to read. What is it?

 

LU : Just one?

 

DARKWICCAN : Just one.

 

DELAYNE : Just one. [laughter]

 

LU : Well, ok, if uh, if a desert island was held to my head, which...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

LU : Um...

 

DELAYNE : [louder laughter]

 

LU : ...it would have to be, uh, it would have to be coldmackerel, “this old place”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes!

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : “this old house”. Yes.

 

LU : I could reread that. I mean, to have, in one sentence, have it be hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time, that’s a gift.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

LU : And uh...

 

DARKWICCAN : Such. Oh. What a wordsmith. Excellent, excellent choice. I am more than happy to include a link to “this old house” by coldmackerel.

 

LU : Yay.

 

DARKWICCAN : In our show notes for this episode. [laughter]

 

LU : For sure.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, Lu, we’re gonna let you go so you can return your son’s headset to him, uh, lest he start going into conniptions, and uh...

 

LU : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...so that you can start working on the slew of one-shots that will continue on in the Heart Series, uh, [laughter] thank you again, so much, for coming on today.

 

DELAYNE : 

 

LU : Absolutely. Thank you guys. Thanks for what you do, it’s fun. Fun to listen to, fun to listen to.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, perfect, that’s our goal.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us. Tremendous thanks to Lu for joining us to talk about the “Heart Series”. Thanks also to our announcer, Byron Tidwell, for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb,  Haywire by David Fenn , Home by Alec Holowka, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	16. Uber Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week on the show DW and Delayne carpool together whilst discussing the ride share love story 'Let Our Hearts Be the Only Sound' by comelayinmybed and LuckyWantstoKnow. Then they chat with the authors about their delightful fic.

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/uber-love)

 

Read the Fic! 

'[Let Our Hearts Be the Only Sound](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15389487)' by comelayinmybed and LuckyWantstoKnow

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

Comelayinmybed's Desert Island Fic: [The Heart Series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1170698) by Likeitmatters

LuckyWantsToKnow's Desert Island Fic: [The Sum Total of Living](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13041252) by doctoruth

 

Episode Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [ApproxTenCats](https://twitter.com/approxtencats)

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN: Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everybody to another episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me arriving in an Uber of her own is my fantastic co-host...

DELAYNE: Hi, it’s Delayne.

DARKWICCAN:  And this week we are talking about love in an Uber rideshare.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: You know I almost named this episode “Love in an Uber Rideshare” but I didn’t think anyone would get it.  Personally I’ve been sitting here singing, “love in an Uber rideshare, picking you up and going to town” in my head all week.

DELAYNE:  [laughs] That was, that was not where my brain went so that was probably a wise decision.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, yeah, thank you, I appreciate the affirmations, always accepting affirmations.  I need it. But before we can dive into that we have a little bit of housekeeping to do.[CONTENT CENSORED SEE EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT] 

DELAYNE: Right, for those who cannot support us financially, uh hey, listening and following and reviewing and rating if you can, those are all very helpful.

DARKWICCAN:  Did you say “hate listening”?

DELAYNE: I did not say...

DARKWICCAN: It sounds like you said “for those who hate listening.”  Do you mean like, “hey, listening” is that what you meant?

DELAYNE: I… [sigh]

DARKWICCAN: I think it would be hilarious if there were people who hate-listen our show.

DELAYNE: [laughs] “I hate these guys so I’m going to listen to them so I can bitch about it later.”  Or hey, listening, I [sigh]

DARKWICCAN: [laughs] But yes absolutely you’re right.  Listening to the show, giving us reviews on iTunes and Spotify, and following us on our social media platforms, both the Twitter and Facebook, are an excellent way to support the show as well.

DELAYNE: ‘Cause I was telling you that on Facebook, which is the one that I keep track of, we have 90 people who like us and 95 people who follow what I post.  That’s almost a hundred, I’m wondering if we can maybe we can get to that 100.

 

DARKWICCAN: I think we probably could.  I think we absolutely could. We could do that.

DELAYNE: That would make me happy.  So those, like I said, those who cannot support us financially we understand, follow us, like us, love us, listen to us.

DARKWICCAN: Validate our existence!

DELAYNE: Or hate listen I guess, if that’s your thing, whatever. [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Well this one’s going out to all the hate listeners out there.  I’m kidding. [laughs]

DELAYNE: Oh no.

DARKWICCAN:  We love you too.  Okay, so let’s talk about love, let’s talk about the story we’re here to chat about today which is  _ Let Our Hearts Be the Only Sound  _ which is a collaborative work between Luckywantstoknow and Comelayinmybed.  First of all I’ve got to say, these two authors are awesome. Lucky is one of the fandom’s most active betas.  And despite having a full plate still seems to find time to crack out some spectacular fic of their own. And Comelayinmybed, also a terrific author, also served as a beta, and was a season one episode transcriber for this show.

DELAYNE: Hey, well thank you.

DARKWICCAN:  Thank you very much, yeah.  So these are two very active individuals within the fic fandom and it shows in their work because the more that you write the more that you work with writers the more your writing just naturally gets tighter and improves and they were already fantastic to begin with.  So it was really exciting for me at least that this collaboration popped up. I had no idea that they were working together and yeah, it was just, I saw it pop up and I was like, “hey, what is this?”. So it turned out to be a really surprisingly dramatic piece of work.

DELAYNE: Uh yeah, it sounds kind of fun and silly, “oh Nicole drives an Uber” and it is… I don’t always get to keep up with a lot of fics as they post, but this was one I did manage to keep up with as it was posting so that says something.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

DELAYNE: And yeah, it is very deep and thoughtful but also has it’s funny moments.  It’s a lot..

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, I do like the fact that Nicole drives the obligatory Lesbian Subaru and that’s actually how it’s tagged, yes.

DELAYNE: I definitely liked that part.  Because I, at one point, had my Subaru wagon, which I miss dearly.   I replaced it with a Volkswagon so, you know, I’m not too far off.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs] Yeah, not to go off on a tangent too much, eventually I intend to replace my wife’s Elantra with a Subaru.

DELAYNE: Ah, you’ve finally decided [inaudible]

DARKWICCAN:  Well no not finally decided, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while.  I’m waiting until we’ve paid the Elantra off so that it’s a higher value as a trade-in so yeah, look at me being all logical and adult.  Anyway, that has nothing to do with this fantastic story, probably going to end up in a bonus track.

DELAYNE: Struggling with adulting does kind of play into this fic, just a little bit.

DARKWICCAN: It does!  It absolutely does. Thank you friend for that fantastic tie in.

DELAYNE: Because Uber Nicole just don’t want to anymore.

DARKWICCAN:  She doesn’t want to.  I mean, what’s interesting is that, it starts off and it feels kind of like…  it starts off and it feels a bit superficial. You’ve got Uber Nicole, picking up Waverly to driver her to work and Nicole’s a bit of a “I know better than you know” jerk kind of a driver.  You know, “I know a faster way.” And I can tell you, having been a very short-lived Uber driver myself and having been someone who takes Ubers frequently there’s nothing worse than I driver whose all, “I’m gonna  ignore the GPS and I’m just gonna go the way that I know is the best way.” Because every time that has happened to me, and the one time I tried it as an Uber driver, and should have known better...

DELAYNE: Failed?

DARKWICCAN: It failed.  It added minutes and minutes that I didn’t want to lose to that trip so… so yeah when Nicole started doing that I was like, “ugh come on, don’t be that person.”

DELAYNE: Um, yeah, that’s definitely a great start to this.  You automatically feel for Waverly, poor Waverly, “who is this jerk?”  You know?

DARKWICCAN:  But what we start to learn through these Uber trips is that both Waverly and Nicole have disabilities, which I haven’t really seen in stories yet.

DELAYNE: That is very, very true.  Not too many authors have tackled disabilities because, well I guess to repeat myself, it’s a lot.

DARKWICCAN: Not only is it a lot, it’s also something you have to have some degree of personal experience in dealing with and managing.  Whether you yourself are a disabled author, or you have someone in your family who is dealing with a disability and you’re basing your character’s experience of that on watching your family member or even close friend go through it.  So there is an element of having to have that first hand knowledge to bring to the writing process. There have been a couple of fics, one immediately pops to mind where Waverly’s character is in a wheelchair, and you can tell that the author has experience with a family member who is chair-bound, or who uses a chair as a device.  So I think that’s why we don’t see very much?

DELAYNE: Right, because it’s really really important to get this right.

DARKWICCAN:  It is because there is an element of having to honor that, I don’t want to say struggle because I think that’s actually really rude, but to honor that experience, there we go.  To honor the experience of managing a disability.

DELAYNE: Yeah, and to be true to it.

DARKWICCAN: Exactly.  So yeah, so that immediately, the fact that both of these characters have almost invisible disabilities, that to look at them you wouldn’t know immediately that this person is dealing with something on a daily basis that directly impacts their life.  So I thought that was very interesting that Comelayinmybed and Luckywantstoknow brought those traits into these two characters. I also thought it was interesting that the disabilities they chose complement each other.

DELAYNE: Yeah, they definitely use that throughout the story, that one scene in particular where the route gets changed and Nicole needs Waverly and Waverly is able to help but she has to make some adjustments to help and they manage to make it to their destination.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, and it was a very exciting and a little bit, exciting, tense and a little bit humorous.  As they’re working with and against their various disabilities to get themselves to their final destination.  But now you’ll have to forgive me Delayne, I don’t know if you made a note, I know that Nicole’s disability is due to an on-the-job injury whereas Waverly’s she was born with?

DELAYNE: No, both injuries were on-the-job actually.

DARKWICCAN: Oh that’s right!  That’s right. That’s what I get for re-reading this a week ago and then reading about twenty five fics in between then.

DELAYNE: Ah yeah, that must be difficult.  Yeah, that is another unique thing, that both of them experience this traumatic injury that caused this disability in their line of work and then had to adjust to it.  And one, of course, did a little better at dealing with it than the other.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, Waverly persevered  and pushed through and it didn’t stop her from continuing her profession.  Whereas Nicole’s character wallowed in self-pity and gave up. And really wanted to live in this state of denial that she was no longer able, so instead of trying to move forward with her life she essentially stopped her life and...

DELAYNE: Full stop [inaudible]

DARKWICCAN: And told everybody in her life a whole bunch of different stories so that she could essentially disappear.

DELAYNE: Yeah, I mean, yeah.  She did not only dig a hole and stick her head in, she just full on buried her entire self like, “no I’m just done, I’m just done.”

DARKWICCAN:  She built a bunker and with a heavy six inch metal plug top to go over the top.  Yeah like she, completely the opposite of Waverly’s approach to dealing with things, and another thing I found interesting is that so we know canonically that  Nicole will keep things to herself in an effort to protect those she cares about if she feels the information will be harmful to them. And I think, I feel like Lucky and Comelayinmybed’s shorthand is Climb, C-L-I-M-B for Comelayinmybed, very clever, so I’m just going to shorthand it.  So Lucky and Climb, it feels like they took that character trait and broadened it to the point where, it feels like Nicole just doesn’t have the ability, because she’s so scared of losing Waverly, to tell Waverly the truth about herself. And I think there’s two things going on there: one, she’s afraid of losing Waverly.  Two, she’s afraid of facing those truths about herself and her experience.

DELAYNE: Well, yeah. [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: You’re all like, “well, thanks Captain Obvious.”

DELAYNE: [laughs] Okay, in terms of communication when Waverly starts her first class, cause she’s at the police academy and she’s teaching a class and she starts talking about communication.  And that was such a poignant scene, and it really set the tone for the rest of the fic where communication is the biggest hill that we’re trying to climb through.

DARKWICCAN:  It really is, yes.

DELAYNE: Because even Waverly has her own moments.

DARKWICCAN: She does. Absolutely she does.  Not to the degree that Nicole does though. I mean with Nicole it’s basically pathological.

DELAYNE: Yeah.  Because even the way that Nicole is set up before the accident with her perfect life, her trajectory for her career, I don’t know, it seems to be infused so well that you can see it in Nicole as well.  Does that make sense? 

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, so when that trajectory is shot off course, violently, and irreversibly. It completely scuttles her entire sense of identity and self.

DELAYNE: [long pause] Yes.

DARKWICCAN: Do you agree?  Because it’s taking a long time for an agreement.  I’m willing to debate.

DELAYNE: No, there’s nothing to debate here.

DARKWICCAN:  So do you think… should we divulge the disabilities because I don’t see how we can talk about too much without having that on the table.

DELAYNE: Yeah, you know, at this point I think most people try and get it read before they listen so I’m hoping...

DARKWICCAN: Well, it’s one of those things that I… it is a reveal, it’s a reveal, but it’s not a “gasp” reveal.

DELAYNE: Uh, actually I do have a note that Lucky and Climb have an amazing way of showing you their disabilities without telling you and so, because I made a note, after her lovely ride with that jerk of an Uber driver, Waverly gets into the offices and she walks down through her cubicles touching each entrance before she gets to hers.

DARKWICCAN:  Mhmm, very subtle.

DELAYNE: And I didn’t pick up on that the first time I read it, but the second time through I was like, “ooh, that’s good.”

DARKWICCAN: Well then maybe let’s not.  Let’s not give it away. Let’s hope that we have intrigued those listeners that haven’t read it so far to go and read it to discover what we are talking about and what you just hinted at with that description of Waverly’s routine there.  So I think we can maybe navigate the plot without that in there. Just know that these elements exist and they’re very clever and really poignant in how they balance each other out within the pair of Waverly and Nicole.

DELAYNE: Yes, and another great thing that the authors do is the use of flashbacks.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes.

DELAYNE: Because so our entrance into the story is Waverly calls the Uber.  And so as we learn their backstory and what happened to them and how they got their disability those flashbacks are just placed perfectly in the story and I love it when authors do that.

DARKWICCAN: Oh me too.  I have such respect for authors who are so excellent at showing and not telling.  And that’s because I’m terrible at it. 

DELAYNE: [laughs] Me too friend.

DARKWICCAN:  I am terrible at it.  Again, not to run off on a self-promoting tangent, I don’t mean to, but I sat down and started working on a new story and got maybe a third or more of the way through of what would be the first chapter and I stopped and re-read it and it was all telling and I was, “dang it!”  So I have such respect for authors who are excellent, who have mastered the skill of showing and not telling. And a lot of the time the use of flashbacks is central to that, especially in providing exposition.

DELAYNE: Right, you could just put in a paragraph saying, “hey, this happened to them.”  No. We wanna see it.

DARKWICCAN: Show us, don’t just tell us about it.  I slap my own freaking wrist about that all the time.

DELAYNE: Is this why we’re podcasters now?

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, this is why we’re podcasters now.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Oh, that was sad.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs] Well, we just need to make a promise to ourselves that we sit down on our next hiatus, between seasons, podcast seasons, not show seasons…

DELAYNE: And write something?

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, and write something, anything!  But .anyway back to the authors deserving of our focus and praise today Comelayinmybed and Luckywantstoknow and this story  _ Let Our Hearts Be the Only Sound _ .  In addition to Waverly and Nicole of course there are other canon characters who appear in this story and I really enjoy the way that Lucky and Climb have brought them in and expressed their characters.

DELAYNE: Now that you mention it yes, that is… I do like how each of them have been interpreted in this universe.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes, because they’re still true to the characters that we know in canon but another sign of the craftsmanship of these two authors they are their own characters here in this world.

DELAYNE: Yes, and Chrissy is still Waverly’s best friend, and I do like Jeremy, we need to see more Jeremy and Nicole we really do, I really hope they give that to us next season, because when authors put them together it’s just fantastic.

DARKWICCAN: Right, and I think we’ll have no choice but to see that next season because the three of them were taken apparently by Valdez, so we assume they’re being held in the same location?  We don’t know. Who knows what Emily has got up her sleeve. But that’s why we don’t talk about the show.

DELAYNE: Okay, I’m sorry.

DARKWICCAN:  We talk about stories…

DELAYNE: I’m having a hard time staying on point today.  My point is I really like Jeremy in fic stories including this one.  That’s what I was saying. What was your…?

DARKWICCAN: Oh Nedley, of course.  I’ve got such a soft spot for the Nedley/Nicole relationship and I love watching fic authors expound upon that and he’s such a father figure and he’s so patient, especially with this Nicole.  This Nicole is very frustrating, because she gets in her own way constantly. And I feel like that’s not divergent to her canon core traits, because I feel like if canon Nicole were faced with a series of bad events essentially, or unfortunate events...

DELAYNE: [laughs] Let’s not say that.

DARKWICCAN:  I know. I think given a different path i can see how our canon series Nicole might go down the same path of self pity in this story.  And she’s not pitiful, that’s the thing, she’s not a pitiful character here. She’s a frustrating character because you’re like, “would you get out of your own way, would you accept help as it is being offered to you, would you stop living in denial please and be honest,” and you know, it takes some pretty dire circumstances for Nicole to snap out of it or for her to really start making a positive change.  And I thought it was interesting how she starts making a positive change on her own and it’s because of Waverly in her life. And it’s like, “yes, people have effects on each other and it’s not that you require this person to be there for these changes to happen but when you have a positive influence in your life it helps.”

DELAYNE: Yes, it definitely does.  Especially if they’re not demanding it of you, you know, they’re just there and you want to do better for them.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, you want to be a better person for them.  You want to be your ideal self for them.

DELAYNE: Ideal self, that’s good, I like that.

DARKWICCAN:  That’s good? Delayne stamp of approval on “ideal self.”  I’ll take it.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Gosh.

DARKWICCAN: But I know we’re really vague about the end of this story.  And part of that is because we really want you, listeners if you haven’t read it, to read it.  I don’t want to give away too much. There are some stories where you know we’ll give away the whole game and that’s usually because they’re incredibly popular and everybody knows about them already, and this was a very popular story, but I just feel like it would be doing it a disservice to divulge too much.

DELAYNE: Do we want to divulge that it is complete and we do have a couple of one shots as well.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, absolutely, the story is complete and are there more than one one shot? 

DELAYNE: Um, I think I’ve got to have a look.  There are two now.

DARKWICCAN: Two, there are two.  And both of these one shots are by Climb alone.  I would bet though that Lucky probably beta read them.  Yep, yep, they did. So regardless Lucky was still there.

DELAYNE: They’ll be involved in this universe if it continues.  That’s how those collabs go.

DARKWICCAN:  Well, I’m really excited for the latest development in the most recent one shot.

DELAYNE: Wait, what? 

DARKWICCAN: Well, I can’t tell you.  I can’t tell you.

DELAYNE: Oh, I’m trying to think, I think I know what you’re talking about.  I’m sure I read it.

DARKWICCAN:  I’ll just say that the final line of dialogue in the most recent one shot  is, “sorry Charlie.” 

[long pause]

DARKWICCAN: Doesn’t help does it.

DELAYNE: Um, okay.

DARKWICCAN: Got it?

DELAYNE: Yeah, ‘cause I’m looking at it right now on my phone.

DARKWICCAN:  Cheater. So anyway, lest we aggravate you, our dear listeners, much longer with us skirting around the specifics of this story what say we wrap this up and get to chatting with Lucky and Climb about this amazing work.

DELAYNE:  That sounds like a fantastic idea [CONTENT CENSORED. SEE EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

MUSIC: Confronting Myself by Lena Raine

 

DARKWICCAN:  Hey everybody and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me, pulling up in an Uber with our two guests, is my fabulous co-host...

DELAYNE: Hi, it’s Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: And of course we must then introduce her two passengers, the fantastic Lucky, Luckywantstoknow, and Climb, also known as Comelayinmybed.  Welcome to the show you two.

LUCKY/CLIMB: Thanks, hey guys.

DARKWICCAN:  This is the fun part where we all try not to talk on top of each other.

DELAYNE: So, as your Uber driver do I get five stars today?  C’mon.

CLIMB: Go ahead Lucky.

LUCKY: [inaudible]

CLIMB: Go first on all of these.

LUCKY: Go first on all of them?  Great, no pressure.

DARKWICCAN: Still not giving you a five star rating there Delayne, I think you need to..

LUCKY: No no, you’re fantastic, the car was spacious and very clean and I appreciate the alcohol stuck in the seat pocket.

DELAYNE: Ah, there we go.  A little bit of bribery, thank you.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes. Oh man, so I mentioned in the first segment that Climb you actually helped us out with transcribing episodes last season so thank you so much.

CLIMB: I only think I did it once or twice, Flying Fanatic did it the majority of the time and she’s just super fast and amazing.  As long as we were getting it out there that’s what matters.

DARKWICCAN: Fly is absolutely fantastic and was a life saver all last season, but so were you, stepping up, really helping out when we got into a pinch.  And you know, for me the transcriptions are a hugely important part of the show so I’m just grateful for any help that we get so just again thank you so much for your help last season.

CLIMB: No problem.

DARKWICCAN:  Awesome. So Lucky what drew you to writing for Wynonna Earp?

LUCKY: Oh boy, alright, well.  Probably like everyone else who watches this show it becomes a little bit of an obsession and I was doing beta work for a couple of other writers in the fandom and just having a lot of fun with it but also becoming a little bit overwhelmed with my own ideas.  I always said I wasn’t going to write anything, beta work came first, but I think somebody said it recently on Twitter, “you get tired of waiting for somebody to write what you want to read” and that’s eventually what happened.

DARKWICCAN: Gotcha, and Climb who approached whom about this collaboration.

CLIMB: Oh god, I did, I definitely did.  Literally it came out of the blue to me and Lucky was just gracious enough to say, “okay we can work on this together.”  I had never posted anything in fanfic for Wynonna Earp or anything like that so she took a real risk in saying, “yeah okay I’ll put my name on that too.”

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN:  So Lucky when Climb came to you were you, as she said, immediately onboard or did you take a moment to think about it.  How did it come from your side?

LUCKY: I’m going to be honest, she seduced me a little bit.  I mean, listen to her it’s like an alcoholic beverage for your ear, which is why I call her Southern Comfort on the side.  No but she promised me a fanfic that was essentially a cop story rolled up in a love story driven to your house in an Uber and she kind of had me there.  So I probably said yes before I knew what it was going to be but I don’t regret it at all.

DARKWICCAN: Well, we don’t regret it either.  It is a fantastic story.

DELAYNE: That needs to be your tagline.  A cop story rolled up in a love story and drove up to in an Uber.  I love that so much. 

LUCKY: I mean I’m always looking for cop stories in this fandom and we’ll probably talk about that because that’s a major point in this story.

DARKWICCAN:  So, okay before we dive into the cop aspect, the civil service side of things, I am curious about the decision that you guys made to give Waverly and Nicole disabilities.  What made you decide to do that and how did you choose the disabilities that you did?

CLIMB: You know, the honest to god truth of this is I remember sitting at a traffic light and it literally  just came into my head, this is a great story, Nicole is an Uber driver and I swear that I didn’t know that Kat had driven Uber at the time or anything like that but there had to be a reason she was doing that.  And honestly it was like the universe just info-dumped on me, she was hurt, and Waverly had to take an Uber because she was hurt and they both had had histories in law enforcement and now they were none of the things they aspired to be when they were in school, or in college or in the police academy.  And you know somehow towards the end of the fic, in the last chapter or the epilogue or something, I posted a note that they were meant to find each other and to heal together and they would have never fallen in love had those events not occurred and brought them into the circumstances in which they met.  I don’t know, it really was just something cosmically dropped that idea onto me and immediately the next place that I stopped I literally leaned over and texted Lucky, “I got a great idea for a fanfic.” And then I convinced her.

LUCKY: Yeah, yeah, anyone who knows me will tell you that I don’t follow pop culture that much so I swear that I also didn’t know that Kat was an Uber driver.  In fact I think we were a couple of chapters into the story where I saw something about that and I texted Climb and I was like, “oh crap, did you know Kat was an Uber driver?” and she’s like, “yeah, stupid, I knew that.”

CLIMB: [Several inaudible words]

LUCKY: Yeah, but I do remember when we started, because the whole concept originated with Climb, do you remember we talked about their injuries, maybe initially we talked about an arm injury.  We wanted it to be something that would effectively end their careers as they knew them but also allow them to re-engage in law enforcement in some capacity at some point. I think Climb initially made it an arm injury and then we joked about how it couldn’t be her, I want to say her dominant arm, maybe her working arm is the term we are going to use here.  Because that obviously is relevant later. As for why they had their disabilities, the point was they had a critical incident and how they handled it.

CLIMB: We definitely agreed it couldn’t be a physical impairment that would physically limit them.  We wanted something that the readers would learn about them as they read. The conversation went back and forth and I know that you definitely picked the hearing loss, and then we had to have something kind of in correlation with that so I picked the vision for Waverly and um, it sort of went back and forth like that in the whole fic like that.  You picked the car but I picked the color of the car and you know, we don’t need to talk about how we had dimensional outlines for the interior of the Subaru.

LUCKY: You mean how we measured the actual heights of Kat and Dom in relation to the inside of an actual Subaru?  No we didn’t do any of that. 

[all laugh]

CLIMB: We all know why...

DELAYNE: This sounds like in reference to a certain scene.

CLIMB: There was another reason why a Subaru was ultimately chosen I believe.

LUCKY: And not just because it’s the official car of lesbians everywhere. 

DELAYNE: I would like to bring it back around to the cop story, the notes… I read notes, I read all the authors notes, so when the note that said that we play it fast and loose with how Uber works but you made it clear that it was important to get the part about civil service professionals accurate, so tell me why that was important to you.

LUCKY: Okay, is everyone comfortable in their onesies, and got your coffee and stuff?  Because I might get a little long-winded on this.

DARKWICCAN:  I’ve got my tea.  I’ve got a nice cuppa.

LUCKY: Okay so before we begin, I do want to say that research is very important to me and I did ask the two to three Uber drivers that I had the privilege of sharing rides with over the writing of this fic various questions that may or may not have come into this fic.

CLIMB: Oh, I actually did that too, I did that too.  Every Uber that I took I had to ask a random questions too just for my own knowledge.

LUCKY: But in the end we did play a little faster and looser with that.  But the law enforcement part of this, like I said, I’m in law enforcement and it’s really important to me and ultimately it’s how Climb seduced me into writing this fic with her, working on this fic with her.  And I am always looking for fanfiction that expands upon Nicole specifically and her role as a cop so there was that. And then on Team Waverly, so my personal vision of Waverly is that she’s underestimated but everybody knows how clever and driven and awesome she is right? 

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm.

LUCKY: So I definitely wanted to make sure we eliminated that in the story.  I loved putting Waverly in the instructor positions, you know, arrest control if anybody knows what that is, they probably got it from reading the story, but that’s the person who teaches recruits how to do control holds and that sort of thing in law enforcement.  And then of course the imagery of her practicing at the firing range and that became really important later when she has to adjust how she learns to handle firearms because of her disability now. So personally some of the stuff I could speak from my own experience, some of it I couldn’t, and I know it was really important to Climb as well that we get the details of the specialty jobs right on.  So we made our questions and I went to the people at my work that could answer those question for us, specifically the bomb techs and the range masters, to get real stories about people who had adapted themselves, either for the shooting like we’re talking about, or how this bomb work really works, how you get trained for it, how much training is involved and so on. So again every department is different, and obviously outside the United States it is different but we just really wanted to write a fic that accurately portrayed what law enforcement professionals go through to train for those roles and I really hope that people appreciated that part of the story.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, absolutely.

DELAYNE: Definitely.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, definitely.  I know next to nothing about law enforcement but reading fics by folks like yourself and even Smurf who is also a former law enforcement you feel that realism there and you see the respect for the job and for the work behind it and for the rules that have to be followed and the procedures and things like that and I just, as an ignorant reader, I love it so I’m sure that readers out there who aren’t ignorant, who do have experience in law enforcement, love it even more.

CLIMB: We were very conscious about, and I certainly was every time we wrote something that was a specific part of law enforcement, you know, just like the guns that Waverly would shoot at the range or the way it would affect her vision, the stance that she would take shooting them, and everything like that was very meticulous and I would write and send a specific scene to Lucky and she would say, “oh, this worked or this wouldn’t work, you can’t use this gun, this gun would hurt them, this is the gun she would shoot if she was really, really angry.”  Those kind of things and I would shoot all of the guns where she was really really angry, but the part about Waverly when she’s [inaudible] in the corner and explaining to Nicole how she got hurt and everything, that is basically verbatim. We used all of the way that people would write reports and the EOD information, I’ll never forget getting that email back from one of the guys that Lucky knew, with all of the… so much of it we were never able to use but when you can convey just a tiny piece of what Nicole and Waverly were doing in their daily life and that “solving the problem” that comes up again and again.  It’s a very commonplace terminology with bomb techs, it’s not just Nicole’s way of handling a device or life or anything like that, that’s how they remedy every situation that they’re in. And it was imperative that that kind of thing translated with how we wrote the fic in more ways than one, because it really did affect the way that both of the main characters kind of handled their disabilities as well, because that’s all they knew how to draw against.

DARKWICCAN:  Right, right, that ingrained daily procedure of approaching something like that.  Now was Nicole’s unwillingness to share her past on the force with Waverly, would you say it’s an extrapolation of her canon trait of nobility or was it something a little more like a psychological scar, more from a place of denial, of not wanting to acknowledge her past.

LUCKY: Huh, that’s a good question.  Honestly, I never really thought of it having anything to do with nobility.  Maybe I’m just not that deep.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: We get deep here on the show.

LUCKY: I honestly just thought that her coping mechanism was to bottle everything up really tightly and you know, she got to the point where she didn’t even know how to remove the cap from that bottle without everything exploding everywhere.  Somehow that’s really appropriate for our story because we kept saying, “things go boom,” and she knows that explosions can kill things and maybe by the time she was ready to share her past things had gone too far.

CLIMB: Yeah, I would totally say that.  I didn’t actually occur to me that Nicole was noble in any of this for the most part because I personally felt she was incredibly selfish before Waverly, she didn’t mean to be, it was just she just couldn’t cope with everything that had happened to her and I think her selfishness went out with her self-sacrifice for the first time in her life.  And that’s how it translated. And it was never her nobility it was, “this is how I survive.” I think I was the one who suggested the tag of “asshole Nicole” because she was not doing well with anything at that point.

LUCKY:  You know honestly, there are real people like this where their whole life is law enforcement and when that’s gone, when it’s taken away, one way or another they don’t know how to function at all.  And in this case she got really lucky to find Waverly because she may have just continued spiralling down into nothing without that.

DELAYNE: That’s frightening.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.

LUCKY: It’s frightening but it’s also a reality.

CLIMB: Exactly.  

DELAYNE: Well, that’s why it’s scary because this is something that is very real to a lot of people.

CLIMB: I think that’s been the most rewarding thing and even more so for Lucky probably is the absolutely wonderful comments that we’ve received on this fic from people who are in this profession or even parallel to this profession who have said, “you’ve really captured what it was like to feel this way, these were the same circumstances that happened to me.”  I think even recently we got one that was, ”I have gone through almost exactly this situation and I have found someone who can love me in this way so now I’m able to recover and continue on with my life.” And that’s been the most rewarding part of it for me personally is seeing that we made them real people. In a story, but the situation was real enough that people could identify with it no matter who was reading it.

DARKWICCAN: That’s amazing.  That’s fantastic you guys.

LUCKY: I mean, not to speak for an entire profession, but I think it’s fair for me to say that it’s a profession where people aren’t comfortable talking about depression or when things affect them personally and it’s very easy for people to just withdraw into that and no-one to notice and anyway… in conclusion, anyway.

DELAYNE: Anyway, it’s been great hearing you two with the back and forth and one of my favorite chapter notes of yours is one of you said you loved a particular chapter and the other one hated it.  So I’m wondering did you encounter this a lot or did you find working together you balanced well?

LUCKY: Oh god, that’s a horrible question.

CLIMB: What chapter was that?  Chapter six or something? I’m going to take as I’m the world’s worst at once I’ve written it and we’ve gone over it and things I don’t go back and read it so when it’s time for us to post notes I’ll remember, “oh I hated this chapter, I hated it so much.”  [all laugh] But let’s be real there was a point each week where I would tell Lucky, “I hate this chapter,” and she would be like, “it’s going to be okay, we’re gonna do it, we do it every week it’s going to be fine.” And there’s nothing more nerve wracking to me than finishing a draft and waiting for the co-author, the person that’s taking responsibility for it with you, and I’m sure she regretted that on some weeks, to re-read it and send it back to you.  She never came back to me and said, “oh this is horrible, you have to re-write this,” she always came back and was really great and reminded me that people loved it and loved what we had done so far and was so great at helping me talk through things to post something.we could ultimately be proud of. So even though we both went back and forth “oh I hate this or I love this” ultimately I think we worked together pretty well with the final product that was posted.  I don’t know, I can’t speak for Lucky, she might have hated it.

LUCKY: No, I mean, fundamentally she is an Eeyore and I do try to be a Tigger.  And also I do want to say I’m not afraid to tell people when I think something they have written is absolute shit.  I’m sorry, we can’t profane, can we on this? Whoops.

DARKWICCAN:  Fuck yes you can, why does everybody think you can’t fucking swear in this show, jeez.

DELAYNE: [wild laughter]

LUCKY: I don’t know, maybe you have like a  _ Good Place _ app that you put into it so now I said like, “absolute shirt”.  I really didn’t feel anything she sent me was absolute shirt or I would have told her so.  [inaudible] and what happened with that chapter was there had to be quite a bit of backstory in there and sometimes you can get into that and it can just look like a lot of text and  you just want to cut it out but it needed to happen. Sometimes it just has to happen in fiction and anyway that chapter was really sweet and I loved it and so [inaudible] there were some sexy times and I love me some sexy times so that’s...

DARKWICCAN: Who doesn’t?

DELAYNE: They are both adults and have to make adult decisions regarding jobs and things, so what led to the decision for Waverly to take that job and to have them be apart so new into their relationship.

LUCKY: Yeah, I think that’s a canon trait from the show and then also we tried to mirror that in the story, that, “no more secrets” is supposed to be really important for them.  And both of our characters are fully aware that the demands and responsibilities of the kind of law enforcement careers that they want to have. And the whole story kind of builds up to them motivating each other to get back into that and all their career dreams knowing the other person is going to be there by their side.  So new into their relationship but also I think their relationship kind of transcends newness if that makes sense?

DARKWICCAN:  Yes.

DELAYNE: I like that.

CLIMB: Well, it does.  I feel like there was a cosmic part of it that was exactly what I said earlier and at the very end when you read that epilogue they met five years before this happened and there was that immediate spark, that’s going to come back again and again if you really believe that and I’m kind of the opposite, I don’t really believe in that but I think it’s a great thing to tell a story with .

DARKWICCAN: Oh yeah, it’s fantastic fic fodder for sure.

LUCKY:  This is really the kind of job where you kind of have to live in the moment but also if you’re in this job and your partner kind of isn’t prepared for that, you know, a lot of changes or one or the other of you have to be apart or work long hours or something you know the relationship isn’t going to last, it’s going to be short-lived.

DARKWICCAN: Well, I think you both have done a fantastic, fantastic job of telling the story of their relationship in this universe.  It is one of my favorite AU universes, I am so excited every time I see a new one shot pop up that extends the series. And I’m just so happy that you guys decided to collaborate, it’s so obvious that your relationship as collaborators and friends is so solid.  I love the back-and-forthiness, I love how you balance each other out and I’m very very very happy that you agreed to come on the show after a bit of negotiating.

LUCKY: Well, I appreciate you moving the schedule around to accommodate my schedule.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, no worries, absolutely.  It’s one of the things that we’re as flexible as we can be with our rigid schedules but it’s more important to us that we make our schedules work with your schedules because you’re the important ones.

LUCKY: Well, I was going to say, “now you know what it’s like to be my wife,” but then you said the part about how I’m the important one.

[all laugh]

DARKWICCAN: Okay, so, digging self out of hole.  Okay, it was great having you guys on. Thanks for joining us today.  But before we let you go there is one more question we have to ask you.

CLIMB: Oh god, go ahead.

DELAYNE: Pause, let it sink in.

CLIMB: We all know what it is, go ahead.

DELAYNE: You are stranded on a desert island and only have one fanfic to read, what is it?

CLIMB: Oh god, um, when you guys asked us to do this that was the one question that we talked about the most, we literally would be on phone calls about, “what are you going to choose for your desert island fic?” “I don’t know, what are you going to choose?”  It’s just really really hard to pick one. And I literally, I had finally decided on one and you’re being really risky picking a fic that isn’t finished yet. 

DARKWICCAN: Well, I think it’s more hopeful, that you’re going to be rescued from the desert island if you’re picking a fic that’s not done yet.

CLIMB: I hope so.  I’m going to say  _ Heart of Gold _ by Likeitmatters, the entire series but  _ Heart of Gold _ was my favorite.  Just the way the writer started the fic where it seemed like they were a little unsure and as they wrote their confidence  kind of grew and the story blossomed into something so amazing. And I love the characters so much, the gender fluidity and the story and the fact that I could never tell how something was going to end up in each chapter was thrilling.  And when Likeitmatters was publishing that, as soon as it hit our inbox and I would text Lucky and be like, “oh Heart of Gold just posted” and she would come back immediately, “oh my god that was such an amazing chapter,” so um...

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN:  Oh my god, I was doing the same with Laragh.

CLIMB: I’m a one and done kind of reader and I may read a fic and bookmark it and love it but honestly there’s only like maybe two or three fics that I go back and read again but  _ Heart of Gold  _ I read daily.  In fact I went back and read a bit this morning, like, “I’m psyched for this, I’m gonna read this.”  She can keep doing one shots in that universe for the rest of my life, I’ll be good.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, completely agree.  Okay Lucky? It’s up to you now.

LUCKY: Yeah, and we are lucky because we get to name two fics on the air and I also love  _ Heart of Gold _ and everything she said about it.  And this was really hard for me because I have the good fortune of working with so many writers and also reading so much good fanfiction but there is one fic that I always come back to as my number one and that is  _ The Sum Total of Living _ by Dr Ruth.

D

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
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> 
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> 
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	17. Knight in Shining Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This morning on the podcast DW and Delayne polish their pauldrons and buff their bevors as they chat about the amazing WE/DragonAge mashup “Enchanting the Knight Commander” with author MisChieftess!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/knight-in-shining-tower)

 

Read the fic!

[Enchanting the Knight Commander](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16226993) by MisChieftess 

 

Episode artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://efapodcast.com/yourareavision.tumblr.com)

 

 

Smug’s Desert Island fic selection:  [“Forbidden Magic”](https://archiveofourown.org/series/187220) by GraceKay.

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [Mrs. Blue Bacon](https://twitter.com/MrsBlueBacon)

 

Transcript by MrsBlueBacon

 

EFA Episode 217- Knight in Shining Tower

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is my chaotic, neutral cohost--

 

DELAYNE : Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And this week, we are dawning our various robes and armament.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And loading our pouch, pouches full of manna, and I don’t know what people do in this video game. I am trying so hard here.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I am ready with the banana chair with the speakers and my controller and like an assortment of energy drinks and chips.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] And you are ready to just game through the next, like, twenty-four hours.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Exactly.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, now that we’ve left everybody completely in the dark, let’s provide a little bit of clarity. So, uh, so providing a little bit of clarity, we are talking about a story today that is based off of, not only  _ Wynonna Earp _ , but a very popular RPG, aka role playing game.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : A video game by the name of  _ Dragon Age _ , and this is a game that I have played the first ten minutes of.

 

DELAYNE : Really?

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s all, yeah. Not because I didn’t like it, but because I lost my ability to like control my character. I don’t know what was going on. I played, I have played RPGs. I’m a fan of RPGs. I have never had an issue with my controller not jiving with what my character was doing on screen, and I just ended up staring at the sky and then getting eaten by a dragon...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...so it did not go well for me.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I’m sorry. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] And despite the fact that I was staring at the sky, I still didn’t see the dragon coming to eat me because he came on my blind side.

 

DELAYNE : Did you try again?

 

DARKWICCAN : No, no, you don’t understand. This was after...see, I played ten minutes of the game, but it took me many hours of starting over just to get through those ten minutes. And I just finally, after the eighth try, I was like “clearly I am not meant to be playing this game”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Which really bummed me out because I’m actually a huge fan of the idea of  _ Dragon Age _ because I’m a huge fan of Felicia Day and Felicia Day, if I recall correctly and am not confusing this with another game, is the voice of one of the uh, main char, main player characters, so like...

 

DELAYNE : Really?

 

DARKWICCAN : ...I was bummed. Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, ok. So why am I not playing  _ Dragon Age _ ?

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t know, dude. ‘Cause you’re reading fic. ‘Cause I’m making you read fic. I am trapping you in my own dungeon and the load stone around your neck is just a long list of fic that you have to read.

 

DELAYNE : I actually don’t play these games because I’m well aware that I would not stop playing, so I don’t allow myself to play. That’s pretty much how that goes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, well that’s good. Self control is good.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Self control is good. What  _ Dragon Age _ reminds me of, is it reminds me of D and D.

 

DELAYNE : Yes! [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Have you ever played D and D, Delayne?

 

DELAYNE : Uh, I’m trying to remember if we’ve talked about this before. I did when I was very young. My brother was the dungeon master, and he created dungeons. I remember we, um, I don’t remember creating our characters, but I know we were fighting uh, the characters in the McDonald’s. And of course, Ronald McDonald, being the boss at the end.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, he just basically took D and D, but he created his own game.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, he created his own game.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, that’s fine. That’s cool. That’s fine.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] We were very young. I like vaguely remember it. I just remember fry, meeting the fry guys and Grimace. Grimace was like the mid-level boss.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s hilarious.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, for folks that aren’t necessarily uh, familiar with  _ Dragon Age _ or with D and D. Basically, what it is, it’s a dark fantasy role playing game. And, it’s sort of set in a middle-ages-y feelings-y time. Uh, there are magic users, there are of course dragons, there are templars, there are knights, there are um, ya know, mages and all that kind of stuff. And, uh, it’s a, again, I wish I’d been able to actually play the whole frickin’ game.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, ya know what, there’s a great thing about this fic, is that there’s a lovely little prologue.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : It kind of gives you a breakdown of the world that is  _ Dragon Age _ .

 

DARKWICCAN : I love the start of this story. “A dwarf enters, stage left. And swaggers to a chair, placed center stage.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You just, immediately, “I’m there with ya, I’m in. What’s goin’ on?” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I, I picture, I picture the dwarf to be rather drunk, for some reason.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Like with a bottle, kind of leaning in the chair, “let me tell you a story”.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] It’s so funny because I picture the dwarf as like a little person version of the narrator from “Our Town”.

 

DELAYNE : You lost me on that one.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because I cut out or because you don’t get the reference.

 

DELAYNE : I don’t get the reference. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so “Our Town” is this incredibly famous stage play that uh, one of the things that makes it interesting is that the time that it was written, shows that were being put on always had kind of elaborate, involved sets, ya know, nothing was very simple, it was all very sort of complex. Where as Grov...sorry, “Our Town” comes along with it’s little town of Grover’s Corners, and they literally use a stool, a few chairs, a ladder, and a backdrop, and that is the set. And that was huge at the time. But the point is, in the story of “Our Town”, the play is narrated by the narrator guy, so um.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I’m doing a great job describing this fantastic piece of...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] We’re doing a great job on this episode all together.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, so the narrator is basically the stage manager, but essentially he comes on and he is describing everything from the outset, and that’s what this dwarf character is doing. So, that is why, for me, it reminds me of the stage manager from “Our Town”.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Hey, whatever speaks to you. That is the point of fanfiction. As long as it captures you in whatever way it connects to you, then good on it. Right?

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely, but yeah, it’s funny in that it’s not that long, you’re right, it’s a short prologue, but it feels...

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...so dense. I mean, there is a lot of history being laid down here.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I actually, when I first started, I could not make any sense of it and I fairly well glossed over it and moved on to the next chapter where we get into the story, um, but on rereading in preparation for the podcast, uh, I spent a little more time with it, and after having read multiple chapters and sort of getting a feel for the tower, then the background made a little more sense.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. And really the prologue is here to lay groundwork for folks who are just coming from the  _ Wynonna Earp _ world and have no idea about the uh immense worldbuilding that has already happened in the world of  _ Dragon Age _ . So, it’s really just a quick “here, let me get you up to speed” and data dump, essentially.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, ya know, I think you imaging the dwarf as drunk and me imagining the dwarf as this sorta hokey “Our Town” ish stage manager...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...I think, however you imagine your dwarf, is what really makes it. Because it’s really kind of, the language is very neutral, so um, and it could kind of be dry, but if you add your own flavor and what you imagine your dwarf to be, uh, it really livens it up a lot.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, let’s dig into the story itself. Uh, so, in this story, our main two character types that we’re dealing with are the templars and the mages. So you’ve got knights and the magic users.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah. Yeah, that’s your standard two options in most role playing fantasy things, is, that’s your base set is the strong people with the armor and the swords and then the people with the magic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. There are, of course, rogues, and healers.

 

DELAYNE : There’s lots of in betweens.

 

DARKWICCAN : Lots of in betweens, but you’re absolutely right. You kind of break it down between the fighter and the magic user, essentially. So, um, that’s what we have here. And in this scenario, to be a magic user, you have to uh, be under the command of a templar controlled tower [said questioningly].

 

DELAYNE : Yes. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t wanna get this wrong.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t wanna get this wrong. And if you are not working as a mage within the jurisdiction of a tower, under the uh, being, ya know, overseen by a knight commander and then, uh, a head mage, uh, you’re considered an apostate. And that’s bad. That’s a bad thing. You don’t wanna be an apostate. Bad things happen to apostates. ‘Cause you’re breakin’ the law. So, essentially...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...at the start of our story, Nicole is the Knight-Commander of her tower and a young apostate mage. How would you say it, apa-state [ph] or apos-tate [ph]? Apos-tate?

 

DELAYNE : I would say apos-tate.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, let’s say that. I like that better.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : A young female...

 

DELAYNE : Just the em-fossis [ph] on a different sil-able [ph], that’s all.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly, right?! [laughter] Uh, tomato, to-mato [ph].

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, a young, female apostate mage has been brought before her. Now, here is where it gets really interesting because neither  _ Dragon Age _ , the canon material, nor  _ Wynonna Earp _ , of course, has the element of alpha-beta-omega dynamics. So, this is where it gets real interesting because SmugMischief has brought in the  _ Dragon Age _ side, the  _ Wynonna Earp _ side, and A B O.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Right? ‘Cause this is probably not A B O in the game.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s not, no.

 

DELAYNE : I would imagine. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s not. Yeah, that’s what I was saying. In either of these source materials, A B O is not an element. So.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, there are additional rules whether you’re an alpha mage, a beta mage, omage mage. There are different rules. And alphas and omegas are considered dangerous if they’re apostates. If they’re not under the control of a tower. And I believe all alpha mages are made tranquil, which is essentially your turned into Spock.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I was picturing more like a lobotomy.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, you know what they say about lobotomies. I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But no, I think that’s fair too. I think that’s a fair way of kind of reading it. To me, it’s, they just, when I think lobotomy, I think of drooling on yourself and you can no longer function. I know that’s a major, like the extreme kind of a thing, but that’s just me. But I think, you know what, you’re right. Because in most cases a lobotomized individual who was lobotomized correctly...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...not that there’s anything ever a correct thing about a lobotomy. They basically just sort of...

 

DELAYNE : Right?!

 

DARKWICCAN : ...docile creatures, essentially. Right? So, yeah, so here comes this apostate mage female who is an omega, and boop, it’s Waverly. So, if you’re an omega mage, you have a choice. You can choose to become tranquil, or you can become bound to the knight-commander of a tower. And this is where we really start mixing the dynamics of A B O and the rules, sort of, the A B O world in with  _ Dragon Age _ . It’s more like the characters, it’s more like  _ Wynonna Earp _ is here just to provide the characters for SmugMischief to play with.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. Yes, very much so. I, the, I guess the connections between the people, so Nicole does have Nedley, and Nedley was her mentor, just sort of small connections like that, that’s still there. Those connections are still there, but other than that yeah, it’s not really connected to  _ Wynonna Earp _ , other than the characters.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and that’s ok. That’s fine because it’s a lot of fun...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...to take those characters and plop them in these other universes. And so, circling back around, so Waverly now has this...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] This is, she’s in the Circle Tower, right?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, [joke drum and cymbal sound]. So...

 

DELAYNE : That’s funny.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I wasn’t even trying. So, omega mage Waverly has to make a decision. Does she choose to become tranquil or does she become bound to Knight-Commander Nicole Haught. Now, being bound to the knight-commander is essentially marriage.

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : And Nicole is an alpha female, part of why she’s the knight-commander.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But she, ya know, I mean, this is a tough decision because it’s tough on Nicole in that she is going to be bound to this stranger and it’s tough on Waverly for the exact same reason. And also, now Waverly is essentially a captive of the tower. Binding herself to Nicole just guarantees that she won’t lose her magic, but it takes away her freedom. No matter what, she’s gonna lose her freedom. So, that’s a hugely interesting starting point for a relationship.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It is uh, it’s yeah. There’s a lot of stuff, lot of heavy stuff when it comes to their relationship. And SmugMischief does not shy away from that and how it affects both of them.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right. Because Nicole is lawful good.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : She’s lawful good, so she follows the law, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t recognize when the law is maybe a bit unfair. But she still is gonna follow the law, she’s bound to uphold the law. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, but she’s gonna do her best to uh, I guess, make it as fair as she lawfully can for everyone involved.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, yeah. And...

 

DELAYNE : Which is tough.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah it is.

 

DELAYNE : In this situation.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. It’s tough because there is, of course, that always present connection between Waverly and Nicole. So, that is still there. That element of their relationship isn’t forced. There’s that definite spark between them, that definite connection. And then spoiler alert, once they do become bound to each other, ‘cause Waverly’s not giving up her magic, come on.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] To give up her magic and wander around the tower making uh, charms and runes all day.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : No thanks.

 

DARKWICCAN : No thanks.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, once they do become bound, that connection only, of course, deepens, almost instantaneously. And even though, well, no, I don’t wanna give that part away. There’s a part about the binding that I don’t want to give away. There is a certain imbalance in the binding that I don’t want to go into detail on. Now this being SmugMischief...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I know where this is going.

 

DARKWICCAN : You know that there’s going to be spiciness involved in the storytelling.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yes folks, this is an E rating. Explicit rating.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, it is.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And I will say if you’re not comfortable with A B O, this might be one where you skip these particular scenes. Don’t skip out on the whole fic, but maybe skip these scenes. But, if you don’t mind A B O, I think you’ll really enjoy it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Um, ya know, taking us back to when we did our A B O episode and how hesitant to reading any A B O, I’m super glad we had this episode and I became more open to it because otherwise I might not have read this and this is a fantastic story. And yes, the uh, the scenes are also good. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Because, like we talked about in our first season, in that A B O episode, the thing that makes  _ Wynonna Earp _ A  B O different to other fandoms, is that there is this element of emotional connection and care between the two characters whereas in uh, more traditional, I guess, A B O, there isn’t necessarily.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s a lot more being driven by the physical, biological need and not so much about the emotional connection.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] And just the excuse to have a character be an asshole.

 

DARKWICCAN : [grossed out sound]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But we’re not talking about those.

 

DARKWICCAN : We’re not talking about those.

 

DELAYNE : We’re talking about this lovely fic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, and it is delightful. It is delightful.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : There is a character. [laughter] There’s a character that shows up, around chapter ten, whose entrance is just spectacular. It’s so good.

 

DELAYNE : It is. It is like Waverly with the shotgun uh, kind of opening. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : It’s like our favorite episode, WayShot, in episode one.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : It’s that epic guys. That epic. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It is quite an entrance, and [laughter] I am so happy when this character shows up. ‘Cause you kinda start to wonder. Is this person gonna be around? Like we’re one...

 

DELAYNE : Right, ‘cause there are, there are some fics that, yeah, it’s just they’re not there.

 

DARKWICCAN : They’re not there, right. And so yeah, it’s one of those things where we’re getting pretty deep into the storytelling and you’re going, “man, this person hasn’t shown up I guess they’re not gonna”, and then BOOM baby.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : “Wait, was that, was that thing loaded?” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] It’s just funny, it’s just funny. Oh man.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Oh.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, ya know I know we’re jumping around a lot, but the amount of work that SmugMischief has put into this story as far as just being incredibly well versed in the mechanics and the rules of the  _ Dragon Age _ universe and being able to easily apply that knowledge to the storytelling here, just adds this incredible amount of uh, what’s the word I’m looking for, just the richness and texture and depth to this story that, even if you’ve never played the game or only managed to play for ten minutes then ended up staring at the sky and being eaten by a dragon...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Sorry. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You still, you still really get into it and really become invested, not just in the characters, but in the world and I’m just loving it. And at this point, we’re only thirteen chapters in, it’s a question mark for how many chapters it’s gonna be because it just feels like Smug’s just getting started, to me.

 

DELAYNE : Oh yeah. Um, I, you’re definitely right. The texture, that’s such a great word, the texture of the scenery, like I really want to play the game now.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And also, the um, this most recent chapter, thirteen, is like, has an extra sort of fun, video game-y sort of feel to it. I don’t know if that’s a major scene in the thing, but it’s fun.

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t know. I have no idea, you’re asking the wrong person.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

  
  


DARKWICCAN : I have no idea. I stared at the sky and got eaten. [laughter] I don’t know. In fact, it’s very possible I’m confusing this game with another game. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, yeah, I’ll go back to playing my  _ Heroes of Might and Magic _ , thanks. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] But ok, I think...

 

DELAYNE : Won’t get eaten by a dragon.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think we’ve talked about as much as we can talk about without getting into super spoiler territory.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, well, yeah. That’s. [pause][laughter] Sorry.

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m glad that you agree. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Did someone just hit the pause button on me, or what just happened there?

 

DARKWICCAN : It sort of felt like it, for a second I thought I’d lost the internet connection. I’m like “no, nope, still there.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Um, so why don’t we, why don’t we dive into our next section so we can actually talk to SmugMischief about the story and about the worldbuilding and about these characters and A B O and all the fun stuff we’ve been touching on this, this uh segment.

 

DELAYNE : That sounds like a fantastic idea.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome, but ya know what we gotta do before we can do that. We have...

 

DELAYNE : I do.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I’m well aware.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Are you teed up and ready to go?

 

DELAYNE : Ugh. [laughter] I have been prepped for this moment.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Alright.

 

DELAYNE : Let’s do this.

 

 

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC : Surviving Exile by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome back to Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is my wonderful cohost--

 

DELAYNE : Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are super excited to have with us for our second segment today, the author of the incredible work that we were discussing prior to the break, SmugMischief, who has asked us to address her as Doc. So, Doc, welcome to the show.

 

DOC : Thanks for having me.

 

DARKWICCAN : We are thrilled to have you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Listen, this is one of those stories, this is one of those stories where we are literally like “refresh refresh refresh…”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : “...the screen” waiting for those updates because it is so, it’s such a good story, man, and you’re telling it so, so well.

 

DOC : Oh, thank you so much. I’m thrilled that people like it as much as I do, if that makes any sense. Like, it’s pretty much been my obsession over the past, god, what, four months? And so I’m always a little bit surprised, but also thrilled, when people are like “oh yeah, I really love this”. I’m like “you know nothing about  _ Dragon Age _ , but please, please stay.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : So.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you only recently kinda got into the fanfiction game as far as  _ Wynonna Earp _ goes, right? Like this is something...

 

DOC : Oh, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...where you just became inspired and had to sit down and start writing?

 

DOC : Oh, well, um, I got inspired in twenty seventeen, um, I, let’s see, I had just started grad school, and uh, my friend Grace, you know her as Grace Kay, had been uh, we’ve been friends for a number of years, um, I just moved away and she was like “no, you have to watch this show, it’s  _ Wynonna Earp _ , and it’s just so great and there’s gays in it and you’re really gonna love it, they just finished season two” and I was like “ok” and I was like “I’m gonna procrastinate and ya know, its’ on Netflix” and I just binged the entire first season.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Sounds right.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Standard operating procedure.

 

DOC : Well, and I’d never written, I’ve written one little thing before, but I’ve never written like fiction for publication for people to read, other people. And um, I just, it just started, kind of, um, happening, I wrote this one little one-shot, it was like three hundred words and I got all this feedback. And I was like “oh, ok, this is how this is? Ok, let’s, let’s see how this goes.” And then, I started writing this um, [laughter] a very, very, very kinky fic because I was like...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] What?

 

DOC : …”let’s combine two of the things I love.” This brand new love and like older love that I, like, really never see done in a way that really speaks to me, and also is consensual. And so I started writing that and then just, like it just started happening. Um, and that was last year, that was, I don’t know, September?

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DOC : Sorry, like twenty seventeen. And then, um, yeah, and then I watched season three and suddenly it happened again with this fic and I started, it just started pouring out of me and I remember messaging, ya know, uh, Grace and I messaged, Alex, uh, deathrae, who I made friends with because of the fic I was writing last year and I was like “what is happening to me? I’m at like forty K words and it’s not stopping.” And they were like “well, just, you gotta just buckle down and, and…”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : “...stay on that horse” [laughter] so yeah, that’s pretty much how it started happening.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, what happened is you’re a fanfic author now.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : Of course, yeah. [laughter] I suppose that’s how it happens. Um...

 

DELAYNE : I adore that uh, all the people that you’re mentioning, we all talk to. [laughter]

 

DOC : Yeah, um, actually, I, part of, ya know, uh, my  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction journey, was Alex and I started talking while I was writing “Drag My Teeth Across Your Chest to Taste Your Beating Heart” um, and Alex was like “oh my goodness, like, this is really cool” and at the same time I was reading Alex’s fic, and eventually like, we just started exchanging emails and stuff and I actually beta’d the last ten chapters of that fic, um, and that also helped with like, fanfic writing. ‘Cause like, I’d done scientific writing my whole life. I never thought I could do creative writing because I, ya know, because I didn’t, maybe I didn’t get the right encouragement, I always thought I couldn’t think of ideas, and what I really needed was a safe place like fanfiction, where I could just take something that already had a framework around it and fill in with my own, ya know, uh, coloring, not even between the lines, just like all over the place, just splash it with paint, uh, and see what happens, and I’ve really enjoyed what’s happened so far. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] We have too.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yes we have, absolutely.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, um, but, let’s get down to the story that we are talking about today. I wanna know, what about the setting uh, inspired you to add the A B O element?

 

DOC : Ok, I mean, this is a huge question. Um, and I kinda love it ‘cause it’s gonna let me roam around a little bit. Um, but, as a person um, I’m obsessed with a few things that just keep coming up in my life again and again and again, and I think one of the major ones is consent. Um, if anyone’s read my kink fic, I think about and process consent in sexual relationships all the time and how I think it should go. And how negotiations should go and in this fic, for fun, I broke consent at the very basic level in some ways to see what would happen, and I did it in this context of  _ Dragon Age _ and A B O, um because  _ Dragon Age _ has this incredibly rich lore, all these different races, there’s magic, there’s a dominant religion that’s in charge and kind of suppressive of magic, there’s feudalism, hierarchy, monsters and heroes. It has it all and I always wanted to play with it, but I never felt inspired before and I always felt the story was too, too big. But, now, ya know, I thought about it in context of a very small place, the tower of the Circle of Magi, and we have this system, where this paternalistic prison culture that um, has mandatory imprisonment for mages, but they’re also encouraged to learn and practice their talents. These templars are trained from an early age to both fear and feel protective, but also kind of ownership, of mages, um, and it’s just a very interesting, like, weird hierarchical structure, and then I was like, “this isn’t weird and kind of constrained enough, let’s add A B O into it and make there be these extra constraints on alpha and omega mages. Um, and so, like, I think, um, part of this is, is a reaction to my kind of long held belief that I’d never write A B O. Um, I didn’t, I had a real problem with the amount of dubious consent  in A B O because they have these heats and these ruts and it let’s you do these situations where characters that wouldn’t get together get locked in a room and then one of them’s in heat and then, and then people think that’s cool and fine because ya know, “it was natural” and blah blah blah, and there have been some authors who have done that so, so well, but I didn’t think I could handle it. But, something that I did in this fic, was I made this really intense construct, and then I made sure Waverly and Nicole were in their right minds the entire time.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DOC : Like, there’s no overwhelming heat or rut influencing them. There’s this terrible, intricate weird situation, um, where Nicole must either, like, she has a choice and she gives the choice to Waverly and it’s a choice between two pretty bad situations, ya know, she’s either going to lobotomize Waverly or she’s gonna have to give her this half ass mating bite and it’s not a good choice. And, I think I, one of the reasons I did this was because Nicole is so good and so honorable, and Waverly is a great communicator, and I wanted to break the situation very badly at the beginning and have them fix it by, not have them break the situation, have the situation broken, and have them work together, working hard, having to fight against the unfairness and inequities of the situation in which they are entrenched, that I created, um, ‘cause i believe that in relationships, honest communication is kind of the apex of anything you can aspire to. If you have a healthy relationship, it’s based on communication, it’s based on hard work, and I guess I just really wanted to see what would happen, and um, there will be a lot more obstacles to come, but they’ve actually gotten through a significant portion of the uh, at least the emotional and the interpersonal obstacles I put in front of them, but there’s a lot more uh, ahead of them. So.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah, like free will, the question of free will...

 

DOC : Mmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...seems to be a major theme within this story of yours. Almost every single character is beholden to something or someone ahead of them in line or rank. Now, as you were just talking about the almost blatant example of this power dynamic is between Nicole and Waverly just because of what they’re having to work through as far as the constraints of the laws and the world that they’re in. Can you kind of go even more into detail and provide some more insight into your thinking of these limitations of free will that you’ve given the people in this story.

 

DOC : Sure. Um, when you, so this goes back to actually playing the  _ Dragon Age _ games, um, when you play them as any class other than a mage, you don’t actually get to see quite so much of the oppression and the ill treatment of mages as you do if you actually play as a mage. And, um, I think that um, this kind of, um, constriction of free will can push people to do incredible things, um, I mean, if you look at the show, look, look at Waverly. Um, she has had all these things happen to her without her permission. Um, ya know, her family was split up at such a young age, um, and she has had to basically make sure that she is the person she wants to be while she concentrates on things that are important to her, like people liking her, um, and also, ya know, establishing the background of her work in uh, figuring out what the curse is about and such, and yet she has remained sweet and loving and fierce and independent and really goddamn smart, and I think that her current state, um, is really even enhanced by the trouble she’s gone through to get here. And so, I guess part of why I’ve, I’ve limited free will in this way is because I really want to see what they’re gonna do to get around it. Because there, like for instance, ya know, I, this is a spoiler, but like, at this point, people realize that I’m not actually going to kill one of them in a brutal way and make them be heartbroken forever, and that they do actually have a lot of O T P energy, uh, between them that’s going to be bringing them together slowly, but they’re under so much pressure. And, what I’m hoping is that it’s going to compress them into goddamn diamonds

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : Ya know, uh, I don’t know...

 

DELAYNE : That’s beautiful. 

 

DOC : ...if we’ll make it there, but that’s the goal, and to keep on with the metaphor because I’m a nerd, there’s gonna be flaws in those diamonds but that is only human, like, you know. And um, and yeah, so yeah I think in many ways I’m trying to give them challenges that they can grow into together and grow into each other at the same time.

 

DELAYNE : Aww, that was beautiful. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DOC : I’m glad you appreciate nerd-ery. [ph]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh yeah, nerd-ery is greatly appreciated here.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : We’re all nerds here. Very proud.

 

DOC : It’s just one of my favorite things.

 

DELAYNE : Ya know, uh, as long as we don’t start talking about plants, then it’s all over.

 

DOC : Oh yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : Actually, Delayne, how did you feel about the garden?

 

DELAYNE : I, uh, I love the garden. Are we gonna see more of the garden?

 

DOC : I really hope so, I mean I really hope that I can take us back to the places that I just invented for this fic because um, I really did enjoy it, but the idea of having some place green and like fragrant with growing things, also because I was trying to be nicer to Waverly because poor Waverly has been taken out of the wild, she’s a feral cat and she’s been brought inside...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...she’s like “what is this dirt, this dirt is furry and it is stuck to the ground and there are no plants growing out of it”. It’s carpet, but like, she’s, she’s been brought in from the wild to a place that’s completely new to her and I was like “well, let’s give her something, like she can garden and, and” so I seem, like, really mean as an author, but I’m trying to make it at least a little nicer. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, that was a good decision.

 

DOC : I’m glad.

 

DELAYNE : I did like that change that you made.

 

DOC : Thank you.

 

DELAYNE : I am curious as to how did you decide which of the  _ Wynonna Earp _ canon characters to use and make cameo appearances sprinkled about...

 

DOC : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...this fic?

 

DOC : Well, I wouldn’t really call it a cameo for Gus, but I love Gus so much.

 

DELAYNE : Yes. [laughter]

 

DOC : She takes no shit, um, and I’ve given her a lot more character than I think the show ever really leaned into. Like, she’s always eating.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : [laughter] Yeah, there’s a lot to her, but she’s the best like stern aunt figure ever, I also really like her professional respect for Nicole and the fondness underlying it, in my fic, and so I decided on Gus because I was like “who would be a good older woman to like make sure that Nicole doesn’t stick her foot in it too far” and I was like “Gus, it’s naturally Gus”.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DOC : Um, with the rest of team tower, there’s Jeremy whos a itty bitty baby omega mage.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : And there’s Knight-Captain Robin who’s a pretty darn young idealistic templar who looks up to Nicole, we haven’t really seen him.

 

DARKWICCAN : I was gonna say, wait a minute.

 

DOC : Yeah, yeah, but I’ve mentioned him a few times but he’s not been like, someone she interacts with more than once or twice, but with team Earp, the way I’m picking people is basically who’s revolving around Wynonna, because Wynonna is the one who has um, come to the tower, surprise surprise, um, and who’s closest to her, who’s aiding her in her secret job, they don’t want Nicole to know what she does. Dolls actually has this enormously huge whole backstory that I got overly excited about, that might never see the light of day, but I did think it would be fun to make him an ex-templar because he’s an addict to a sub…[siren in background] ooh, hold on. There’s a...

 

DARKWICCAN : Sounds like the police are coming for you. I guess...

 

DOC : Right.

 

DELAYE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...they don’t want you to give that much away.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : Yeah, I guess. No, so I thought it would be fun to make him an addict to a substance that was given to him by his bosses to control him...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DOC : ...just as like a fun parallel to the show.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : That’s genius. [laughter]

 

DOC : So. Because not everyone knows about  _ Dragon Age _ , I don’t always expect people to get these things, but they make me smile. So, I do like to lean into them when I can.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, speaking of  _ Dragon Age _ being a major source of the material here, really.

 

DOC : Mmm, mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : This is a  _ Dragon Age _ fic with  _ Wynonna Earp _ characters thrown in.

 

DOC : Eh, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that’s great, that’s great. I love taking these characters and putting them into completely different universes.

 

DOC : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s why AUs exist. But, so  _ Dragon Age _ is a game, it is a role playing video game, so I’m curious if, because it’s very clear that you’re enraptured by the storytelling of this game

 

DOC : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : What, if any, game playing elements have you brought into this story because in chapter thirteen there is a fantastic moment where a hidden passageway is revealed...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and it’s essentially a log flume ride, more or less.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And that felt so much to me like a game play element. I just wanna, I’m just curious, is that, or are there other elements of game play that you’ve incorporated into the storytelling?

 

DOC : That particular thing is an invention of mine because...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s great. It’s awesome.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...that particular thing is an invention of mine because um, so, I really love it when people interact with me. I love getting comments, I try to respond to as many of them as I can, and a couple of people have reached out to me with DMs or like publicly on Twitter, um, and one person reached out to me and we never stopped talking, and I’m gonna abbreviate their name to L D M, but um, actually she doesn’t know this, but she asked me like “are there gonna be like secret passages in the tower?” and I was like “Genius!!”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : Of course there are secret passages in the tower. It was built by dwarves and this ancient race of humans like hundreds of years ago and of course the dwarves are very, very cunning with like runes and magic, but they’re not, hmm, they can’t do magic but they can manipulate the forces that involve magic with like runes and enchantments. So I was like, “of course they would put secret passages in and especially into the most grand, ya know, office and chamber in the tower would have access to these things” and I was like “and how would they get down and um, ya know, how would I have it be”. Ya know, it can’t be a bat pole because these ceilings are really astronomically high. They’re like four dozen feet high. Um, it’s really kinda ridiculous, so I was like “oh, well, I did go down this series of wooden slides in a salt mine in Salzburg, Austria when I was twelve”, um and...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...and it’s like “ok, we’re just gonna have these, these, this salt mine slide and we’re gonna put it in the walls of the tower, and just have it spiral down and just like have a, ya know”, and have that be, ya know, there’s gonna be stairs to go back up, but um...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...I, I just, I don’t know, so that one came out of nowhere, but L D M asking me that question was part of like, I was like “well, obviously, obviously, and this solves a plot problem, which is how, when Nicole and Waverly are falling, well, not falling in love, Nicole can’t be in love, obviously...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...so when they’re just trying to be close ‘cause Nicole’s trying to be nice, and she doesn’t wanna admit that she needs Waverly, how to get them together without the entire rumor mill of the very, like, small population of this tower. Um, really going at it, ya know, ‘cause mages can move around, they can not be in their beds, like they could be in the library all night. They do have some freedoms, so like in this particular case, like ya know, there’s a secret door in the, I haven’t decided where it is yet, but there’s a secret door somewhere and she can go there and she can visit Nicole and if she needs to get down in a hurry, there’s a slide, and...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...not only is that fun, but it let me...

 

DARKWICCAN : [clears throat]

 

DOC : ...kind of, have a sweet moment between Nicole and Waverly, um, where I think Waverly feels like, Nicole definitely, she says, I’m writing this whole thing from her point-of-view, she says, “oh, maybe things’ll [ph] turn out alright”. And I think that Waverly has the exact same thought. And I wanted them to be together in that, especially because the next couple chapters are gonna start to deal with Waverly’s heat...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm.

 

DOC : ...so, it’s good to have them on the same, in the same place for that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : Oh, so that was all about the, the log flume, um, in terms of other game play elements, um, there will be a few, like for instance, when you’re out in the, in the wild world, you can be attacked on the road by a bear...

 

DARKWICCAN : Random battles!

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...or, ya know, there you go. Um, it’s not like Pokémon where you’re wandering around in the tall grass and ya know, a wild [unintelligible] appears, um, it is, there are these random battles. Also, these classes, so like Waverly is a spirit healer which means that she can kind of talk to this parallel world, it’s like, if you’ve read a lot of fantasy, it’s like the faery or the ether...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm.

 

DOC : ...and there are the spirits in it and it’s parallel to the world, um, and being a spirit healer involves negotiating with helpful spirits and kind of opening yourself up to them, but it also means that you’re, there’s the possibility that they’re not benign, and they’re not helpful and you have to deal with that, which means...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oooh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...it’s kind of a, yeah. It’s kind of, it’s a dangerous class to be, um, and Waverly can also do attack magic. She can manipulate fire and a couple of other things, whereas Nicole is a warrior and she has uh, a dirk and a longsword, um, and also she’s a templar which means she can dismiss magic. Um, the mechanics are kind of complicated, the game is pretty much like “well, they sort of reinforce reality”, so if the powers of the fae...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Sorry.

 

DOC : ...and spirits, I know, if the powers of the fae and spirits are kind of unreal, then templars kind of make reality solid.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm.

 

DOC : And that solidity repels magic. It prevents magic from being um, made. And that’s how the mage hunters controlled Waverly on the way to the tower, from getting away. They were using those skills against her. And they’re not templars and they were taking lyrium for it, anyway, um...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...anyway, as far as other game mechanics, um there’s, there’s one that’s kind of obvious, which is if you use it too much you can kind of run out of spells or um, your, the templar skills, or whatever, if you use it too much, also mages are kind of squishy. You really don’t wanna let anyone hit them.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ‘Cause they’re not really, they’re not armored, they’re not, ya know, they can be muscular, but they’re not very well versed in fielding um, damage like that. So, there’s a couple like that.

 

DARKWICCAN : This is so much like D & D. Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DOC : Oh, oh, oh, yes. I mean, that’s what R P G s are, right?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DOC : People were playing things like D & D maybe not as structured, long before video games became a thing, I think.

 

DARKWICCAN : I, you kind of alluded to this a little in an earlier answer, um, but I’m gonna circle back around to it. Right now, we’re in the tower as you have mentioned...

 

DOC : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...this is a very iso, it’s a very compact location, uh, with kind of limits as far as what our characters can get up to on that location. You mentioned that things happen out in the wide world differently than they do...

 

DOC : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...in the tower, so I’m wondering, hmm, yes or no question I guess, you don’t have to give away the game here, but uh, are our characters gonna be exploring the wide world at some point?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : They are, um, [laughter] the um, yeah, so the, basically after Waverly’s heat, the next major challenge will take them out of the tower, together, into a really, um, rather deadly situation.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ooh.

 

DOC : And, you can just imagine how thrilled Nicole is about Waverly coming along.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Sorry.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : And maybe from that answer, from that part of my answer, you can intuit that maybe um, Waverly and Nicole do not agree...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...about Waverly coming along. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah. Not a great leap there.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : But, um yeah, no, so yes, yes, there’s some real tough stuff coming up and they’re not going to be fine, necessarily, the whole time during it, but I think it will make them, not to be trite, but stronger together.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DOC : Um, but yeah, no, we are going to see the wide world. I can give away that we’re going to travel on a boat to the shore and then travel on horseback around places.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : And, um, so there will be some, I’ll be doing some really interesting internet searches about certain things...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...like how fast a horse can travel, um, man, my internet search history...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...must be, like a severe concern.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s another great thing about being a fic author.

 

DOC : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, look, I’m gonna stop you before you give away too much more, uh...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...because I want everything to be a surprise to us and to our listeners, and we’ve also run out of time, so now, we have to immediately jump to the final boss...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and go for...

 

DOC : Should I be [unintelligible]?

 

DARKWICCAN : ...go for the last question, uh, the only question that everyone knows is coming.

 

DOC : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, Delayne, go for it.

 

DELAYNE : Alright, you are stranded on a desert island and can only have one fic to read, what is it?

 

DOC : Woah. I had to work really hard to figure this one out because I’ve read an enormous amount of fanfiction throughout the years, um, but I think there are a number of people who, I’m using this a little as a rec, but I would also read this fic again, um, many, many times because a lot of people seem to be contacting me about, um,  _ Dragon Age _ , and how they’re planning to play it, for instance. Not that you’d know anything about that.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : Um, and I would recommend, and I would read “Forbidden Magic” by Grace Kay.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : Grace is one of my oldest friends, um, and I was really hesitant to read this fic, early on in our friendship because she’s like, “no, like” she got me into the games, and then she’s like, got me into fanfic, and I’m reading all this fanfic, but when a friend tells me, “oh, you should read my fic”, I’m like “oh no, what if it’s bad?”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : It’s, it’s the worst automatic thing, but like I know other people have this same thing that they think when someone’s like “no, no, no, I wrote this porn”, um...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...I’m like “uh, ok”, um, but I read it finally, and I have read it six times since then.

 

DARKWICCAN : Wow.

 

DOC : And considering the, like it has three hundred seventy thousand words.

 

DARKWICCAN : Wow.

 

DOC : Um, this is, this is, this is a fantastic run through of  _ Dragon Age: Origins _ with Grace’s hero who is a mage who came from the circle in the first place and has the weight of her country and the world on her shoulders, to stop the blight, which I’ve mentioned before, but it’s, it’s a, it’s as if, it’s kind of like a medieval, post-apocalyptic zombie flick, but the zombies are intelligent and are led by a really, really angry dragon.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, nice. Ok, this sounds amazing.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : No, yeah. Yeah, and also, the darkspawn are a little bit like orcs from  _ Lord of the Rings _ in that they’re kind of made from people.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : So, like ya know, it’s, it’s, it’s bad shit. And in Grace’s fic, it’s just the battles, the struggles that they go through, all the conversations, it’s just all so detailed and engaging, it’s a really fun read, but part of why I really love it, is that the major romantic relationships involve so much communication. Just communication upon communication upon communication upon communication. The relationship is never the cause of angst, it’s always the thing you fall back on when life is too hard and trust to bring you back up. Um, and it’s, that’s part of why I read it so many times. It’s just enormous. It’s, it’s, it’s gargantuan, and the whole thing is wonderful and it has so much to give.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome.

 

DOC : So, that would be my desert island fic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Fantastic. Well, I am very excited to provide a link to “Forbidden Magic” by Grace Kay in our show notes for this episode. Doc, this has been so much fun chatting with you. I love how passionate you are about this story and the game and everything...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and I’m sure that our paths will cross and we will chat again in the future, um…

 

DOC : Oh, definitely.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...but thank you for taking time out of your schedule to chat with us today.

 

DOC : Thank you so much for having me. This has been a lot of fun and I really do love um, engaging, and getting a chance to like spill some of that enthusiasm out into the wide world…

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DOC : ...for you guys and ya know, whoever listens to this.

  
  


MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us. Big thanks to Doc for sitting down with us to discuss their story “Enchanting the Knight Commander”. Thanks also to our announcer, Byron Tidwell, for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, Flower Dance by Erik Barone, Surviving Exile by Darren Korb, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	18. Can You Feel the Storm?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DW and Delayne layer on their parkas and buckle into their SUV’s as they chase down the exciting storm chasing story ‘Storm Season’ by alterocentrist. Then they bunker down in the storm cellar to chat with the author.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/can-you-feel-the-storm)

 

Read the Fic!

’[Storm Season](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13488327)’ by alterocentrist

 

Episode artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://efapodcast.com/youareavision.tumblr.com)

 

alterocentrist’s Desert Island Fic: [ _A Place Is Only A Place_  by Thrace](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15284589)

 

Episode transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [ApproxTenCats](http://efapodcast.com/Twitter.com/approxtencats) 

 

Ep 218: Can You Feel the Storm

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN: Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everybody to another episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me this week dressed in a rain jacket, a parka,  holding an umbrella and standing in delightfully adorable floral wellies is my lovely co-host...

DELAYNE: Hi, it’s Delayne.  And I’ve gotta say the storm here is getting bad folks.  You wanna stay indoors, you wanna lock everything up tight.

DARKWICCAN: Watch out for flying stop signs Delayne.  Should I go in and should I put some sound effects in here, like thunder, wind blowing and rain.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Picture me in my little rain outfit, my umbrella is flying away at the moment.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] Hold on to it, hold on to it tight.

DELAYNE: Hi, so what are we talking about today?

DARKWICCAN: I have no idea.  Sheesh, why did I give that intro?

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So Delayne did you ever grow up around tornadoes?

DELAYNE: Ah, no actually.

DARKWICCAN: Ah, I did.

DELAYNE: We did have the occasional microburst.

DARKWICCAN: Ah, those are exciting.

DELAYNE: Yeah, so, and one time I was sitting on the front porch with my grandma, and we saw the clouds come down, and they started to twist and they started to get this funnel shape, and then it just stopped and went back up and dissipated. 

DARKWICCAN: Wow.  I lived in Tornado Alley in two different states, and two different times of my life, and also states of mind.  When I was in kindergarten we lived in Broken Arrow Oklahoma which is a suburb outside of Tulsa and that was my first experience with tornadoes.  We were kind of in a housing development that was in a large open plain of land and...

DELAYNE: Sounds like the movies.

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm.  And more than once a twister got awfully close, my mom was terrified, absolutely terrified of tornadoes because she was a child who grew up exclusively in Southern California so had no experience with tornadoes as a threat, whereas my dad grew up in southern Alabama in Tornado Alley so was familiar so I remember a time when a funnel was getting cloud was touching down and was quite close to us, maybe within three to five miles, and my parents and I huddled into this sort of central bathroom in the house which was basically a water closet, a WC, and my mom was sitting on the toilet and she had me sitting on the floor on my knees with my head on her lap and a pillow over her head and my dad going, “sweetheart that’s really just going to cause more harm than good.”  

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Yeah. [laughter] Second time I lived in Tornado Alley was in Huntsville Alabama.

DELAYNE: I was not aware that Tornado Alley stretched into Alabama.

DARKWICCAN: It does, it’s at the tail end of it actually.  And I remember by this point I was a teenager, I was driving, I was finishing up my high school career and my parents had already moved to another state and left me behind with my grandparents so I could finish up high school without having to transfer high schools and I was driving home from the library, because I’d left the library because the tornado sirens had gone off and it was everybody scramble for home if you can.  So I scrambled out to my little pick-up truck and was driving down the main drag to get back to my grandparent’s house and came to a stop light and I crap you not, a small funnel cloud crossed the intersection on a green light. 

DELAYNE:  [laughter]

DARKWICCAN:  I was the red light.  It crossed the intersection on a green light.  And myself and all the other drivers were just sitting there like, “woah”.  I mean it wasn’t very powerful, it was like an F2, it was abiding by traffic laws so I wasn’t, you know, so that was a bizarre experience.  So I say all that to say this: I have a lot of experience with tornadoes, those are just two examples, so when I saw this story pop up, the story we are talking about today, and saw that it was about storm chasers in Tornado Alley I got very excited because I was like, [sucks in air] “this world, I know this world.”  So yeah.

DELAYNE: Right, so the fic that we are talking about today is  _ Storm Season  _ by alterocentrist?

DARKWICCAN: I believe it’s that, altero-centrist.  Or alt-ero-centrist?

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN:  Or [ph] alt-erocentreest?  I don’t know, we could go any number of ways, we’ll have to find out later how it’s pronounced.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Um, I like how you were at the end of Tornado Alley because in this fic Purgatory is kind of at the end.

DARKWICCAN: It’s more like they’re at the beginning of Tornado Alley, because they’re still in Canada.

DELAYNE: Right well I guess beginning and end you’re thinking north, south, west, east.  I’m talking it’s at the edge when I say end. It’s at the edge, whichever edge, beginning, end, middle, it’s an edge.

DARKWICCAN: It’s within Tornado Alley, that’s all that matters.

DELAYNE: So the tornados aren’t that bad but they, the big storms are accessible.

DARKWICCAN: Yes. And what’s interesting about this work, that makes it different from other stories that we’ve talked about so far this season, is that it really is just, I don’t mean just in a bad way, I mean just in a good way, it’s just a romance.

DELAYNE: It is, yeah.

DARKWICCAN: It’s a romance, that has the backdrop of storm chasing but really the angst and everything isn’t focused on the Wayhaught relationship, it’s focused on things that happened outside of it, to other people, that affect Wayhaught but it’s not them.  They’re not the ones who are caught up in the storm. Ba dum ting.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Hey, can you guess what my mother-in-law’s favorite movie is?

DARKWICCAN: Is it  _ Twister _ ?

DELAYNE: It’s  _ Twister _ .  She will put that on all the time because she loves disaster movies.

DARKWICCAN:  So  _ Twister  _ is the one and only time in my entire life that my mother has hit me.

DELAYNE: What?

DARKWICCAN: So, okay, so when the film premiered the producing company, I can’t recall who it was, Paramount, or Universal, I don’t remember, but whoever it was put up a small premiere event in Huntsville, where we were living at the time the movie came out.  And this is partly because Huntsville is a bit well known because it is the home of the Space and Rocket Center, so it’s kind of the Silicon Valley of Alabama and the South. It’s a known entity. So the producing company, whoever they were, did a small premiere in Huntsville, so my parents both being involved in the entertainment industry were invited and I got to go along and so we’re sitting there watching the movie and you know that moment when they’re sitting there in the truck and the cow flies past?

DELAYNE: [laughter] I think most people know that moment even if they haven’t seen the movie.

DARKWICCAN: I bust up laughing and my mom smacked my arm so hard, she was horrified that I could find this terrorizing moment so hilarious, and I’m sorry, maybe if the CGI had been a little better, you know something more in line with what we have today, maybe if the cow had looked less comical I wouldn’t have laughed.  But I’m sorry it’s frikkin’ hilarious.

DELAYNE: Right, so when I went into this story having Twister in mind thinking, “we’re going to see stuff flying around, we’re going to see all sorts of crazy stuff.”  Well we didn’t. But it is a great little romance.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, yeah, I like how it focuses more on not only the budding relationship between Waverly and Nicole which grows really naturally and organically and in a lovely way, but also the familial quality of the group in general where Nicole’s sort of coming into this group that’s established, as usual, that’s okay, and...

DELAYNE: Well, it’s a good story.

DARKWICCAN: It’s a good story, yeah...

DELAYNE: The found family idea.

DARKWICCAN: But like you I also anticipated  _ Twister _ vibes, I expected there to be evil meteorologists.

DELAYNE: Evil meteorologists? 

DARKWICCAN:  Okay, tell me that there aren’t evil meteorologists in Twister.  There are evil meteorologists led by Carey Elwes but that is not what we’re talking about here.  We’re talking about this delightful story that we are trying to discuss.

DELAYNE: [laughter] I’m sorry, I keep trying to think of something punny here, nothing’s working for me.

DARKWICCAN: You got your tongue all twisted up there?

DELAYNE: Yeah, my tongue’s all twisted and I keep flying away on tangents.

DARKWICCAN: Well just don’t get sucked up into another one.

DELAYNE: [laughter] No guarantees.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] Just lash your belt to the nearest pipe and hold on.  Okay, so this story does not have evil meteorologists, it’s just about a summer where this group of people get together to chase storms.  Wynonna is a photographer and she earns her living by taking photography of these impressive summer storms with their funnel clouds and lightning strikes and the devastation that they leave behind, that’s how she makes her living.  So really it’s just about that summer experience and part of that is that they have their home base which is at The Homestead.

DELAYNE: Yes, I do like how Dolls is brought in as, what was it, the public, I forget the actual word used, I should have wrote that down.  But Wynonna isn’t just, like the data and the pictures that they’re collecting is for the public good, it’s not just they’re chasing storms and getting cool pictures, you know.

DARKWICCAN: Right, they’re providing public service announcements?

DELAYNE: “A surveyor for public safety Canada.”

DARKWICCAN: There we go.

DELAYNE: Yeah.  So I do like that it is a health and safety service that they’re providing.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, in addition to their art photography yeah, and meteorological stuff.  But interestingly Waverly doesn’t chase, Waverly basically keeps the home fires burning, keeps the house warm, gives her an opportunity while she’s on a break from college to not have to deal with a bunch of stinky dorm mates.  So she gets to stay behind in peace and quiet while Wynonna and the rest are out chasing, and yeah, it’s you know, it’s just a good story. It’s just a story that you feel good while you’re reading it. 

DELAYNE: Ah, yes.  There’s just, it’s not super angsty, but Nicole’s first run, so Nicole is, uh, see I cannot stay on track today.  First of all, I am here for park ranger Nicole, I’m sure you’re not surprised by that. 

DARKWICCAN: Gosh, golly, gee whiz, really?  Knock me over with a feather.

DELAYNE: [laughter] And while she’s on her summer break, she knows Dolls from school or something right?

DARKWICCAN:  Mhmm. 

DELAYNE: Right, just making sure I’m remembering correctly.  You know, she wants a summer job, maybe something a little different while she’s waiting for her park ranger application to go through and yeah, just joins up with the crew.  So like you said she’s the odd one out to this very established group.

DARKWICCAN: Right yeah.

DELAYNE: And then her first run does not go very well.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, her first run kind of gives her a front row seat to the reality of the devastation caused by these storms.

DELAYNE: Yeah.  So we get to experience the disaster part through Nicole without witnessing it in the fic.

DARKWICCAN:  Yes. I also like how the author alterocentrist, how they flip back and forth between points of view.  Half the time we’re seeing things from Nicole’s point of view and half the time from Waverly’s point of view.  So it’s a very well, as a reader you have a very well-rounded idea of what they’re both thinking and feeling at any given time and that kind of fly on the wall sensation makes it that much more enjoyable in seeing how they organically get closer and closer to each other.  Because of course the instant attraction is there.

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: That’s almost always going to be there in a Wayhaught story because that is a cornerstone of the characters in the show.  But it’s really nice to stand back and watch them both sort of magnetically gravitate towards each other over the course of the story.

DELAYNE: With a little bit of awkward Waverly happening.

DARKWICCAN: I did like the call-back to canon there where Waverly essentially launches herself at Nicole when she’s run out of the ability to form words to express herself.

DELAYNE:[laughter] I actually had not made that connection so thank you.

DARKWICCAN: You’re welcome, here to help.

DELAYNE: Oh my gosh, you’re right.  That was great.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] So before we started recording Delayne you were saying that you personally connected to this story, that it brought up stuff for you.  Do you mind kind of digging a little bit into that?

DELAYNE: Yeah, yeah, so after Nicole’s bad run she’s not sleeping very well so she gets up in the middle of the night, she’s watching TV, she’s got the sound on low and the captions on.  Cause you know, you don’t want to wake up all your roommates, there’s a bunch of people at the Homestead. I actually started doing that after my roommates at college yelled at me because I always had to turn the TV up because I couldn’t understand, so it would just incrementally get louder and then once they were like, “dude, turn down the TV.”  So that’s when I started watching shows with closed captioning on, so I could keep quiet and still understand them.

DARKWICCAN: For some reason I thought your connection to the story was going to be a little deeper than closed captioning.

DELAYNE: Oh there’s more.

DARKWICCAN:  Okay. 

DELAYNE: That was just one of them.

DARKWICCAN: So what are other examples?

DELAYNE: So when Nicole finally mentions Shae and how Nicole fell into some shrubs.  So my wife, [laughter] when we were first hanging out and she asked me to take her to her mom’s for her birthday and so we had been hanging out for a month and a few nights before we were, “okay so now we’re officially dating.”  But we’re getting all our stuff together and her aunt had lived on the second floor so she’s got her guitar and her bag and she’s walking down the stairs and she trips and falls into some shrubs. [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Oh your wife fell into the shrubs.

DELAYNE: My wife fell into the shrubs.  It wasn’t quite a meet cute like that but for some reason as I’m picturing Nicole falling into the shrubs I’m picturing my wife falling into some shrubs.  And it was a very sweet moment for me.

DARKWICCAN: Wait a minute.  Your wife encountering bodily harm was a sweet moment for you?  Or the memory of that moment?

DELAYNE: The memory of that moment. Because part of the reason she went full on into the shrub was because she had to save the guitar.  The guitar was help up into the air [laughter] so that it would not hit the ground, anyway, that’s… You’re like, “okay, you’re weird.”

DARKWICCAN: I feel like these are “had to be there” moments.

DELAYNE: Apparently.

DARKWICCAN: Um, so things that I really enjoyed and connected with was when Nicole had to take a few days off from storm chasing because she’s contracted a cold because she wasn’t thinking about the fact that in storms there’s often rain, and lots of rain, and more rain.  And she got herself soaking wet like a drowned puppy that she is, and so she catches a cold so she’s laid up. During that time when everyone else is off chasing and it’s just Nicole and Waverly in the house there’s this lovely development of their relationship to each other, they’re not together yet, they do have a sort of mutual pining situation going on and just the tone that alterocentrist sets in this series of scenes is just so warm and very comforting and you feel like you’re wrapped in this special blanket of time where you’re able to be a part of watching these two people that you care about so much start to realize their feelings for each other and start to build up that courage to be honest with each other and that moment where, when someone has run out for errands and they didn’t tell you why and you’re already in nearing to pretty moderate twitterpation right?  So you’re going, “where are they? Are they okay? I’m sure they’re fine. They didn’t say anything. I shouldn’t worry about this. Well maybe I should when they’ve been gone for a while and I don’t really know where. You know I’m just going to go for a drive and I’m just going to see”. That lovely sort of adorable but very valid and very genuine and true experience that some folks experience when they’re at the beginnings of something. I just love the way that they captured that.

DELAYNE: That whole set up, I just really enjoyed the leave-them-alone-together trick.  Because it’s set up well, Waverly is at the Homestead by herself and Nicole is going to be out storm chasing for most of the summer, and when they’re all back everyone is back there at the Homestead so how do you get them alone?  Okay, Nicole gets sick, yes she gets a paper cut, so we have the injury, the taking care of, it’s so sweet.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, it’s very sweet.

 

DELAYNE: That’s my thing.  My wife gets very sweet and very needy when she’s injured or sick and I adore it, maybe that’s why.

DARKWICCAN: I just think that when you can take care of someone there’s that element of feeling needed and feeling wanted, yeah I think that Nicole didn’t need help with her paper cut.

DELAYNE: No.

DARKWICCAN: So that was a two way indulgence, that was Nicole indulging Waverly and letting her take care of her boo-boo and that was Waverly indulging Nicole and taking care of it.  So you know, that kind of very cute stuff and just to circle back around to this, this is a story that is a romance and that’s all it really needs to be because it’s lovely, and comforting, and wonderful, and you don’t need any sort of deeper meaning beyond it.  Sometimes it’s nice just to have the romance.

DELAYNE:  A happy little romance.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.

DELAYNE: I see I have another note, just another random aside because you know how I love that.  Nicole refers to a four hour drive as a long trip. [laughter] I’m sorry, as someone from the west a four hour drive is a short trip.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, no I gotta agree with you there.  But here’s the funny thing, it’s all about where you are, right?  So here in western Washington I live about 35 minutes south of Seattle and I travel to Seattle every day for work, no big deal.  If you were to ask a Seattleite to deign to come southward it is like asking them to travel the route that Lewis and Clark did. They’re just like, “it’s so faaaarrrr.”  And I’m like, “what? I travel into the city every day, ‘it’s so far’.” So it’s all relative right?

DELAYNE: [laughter]Good point.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] But yeah, I think it’s funny, we both have friends in the UK and for them, you know if they’re starting in the central part of essentially the island of the United Kingdom and were to drive two hours, two and a half hours in any direction they would hit water.  So I mean that’s nothing, but still they go, “oh it’s so far to go from here to there,” and I go, “what are you talking about man?” I drive eight hours to get from where I am down to the Oregon coast, what are you talking about?

DELAYNE: The summer before I went to Scotland I was working about three or four hours from home and I usually had three day weekends so I would drive home every weekend.  They’re like, “three or four hours, no, that’s a two week holiday, what are you talking about?”

DARKWICCAN:  [laughter]  Distance is relative.  What more can we say about this story  _ Storm Season _ ?  I love the way that alterocentrist handles each of the characters because even though they have taken these characters out of canon and put them more or less essentially in the real world, right?  Each of the characters, they don’t have the same jobs as they have canonically. Obviously. Wynonna is a photographer, Dolls does public service, Rosita’s a meteorologist, Doc drives a pink cadillac, that’s the same...

DELAYNE: [laughter] I love the pink cadillac.

DARKWICCAN: But they all do different things but they’re still at the core… I mean Doc is not 150 years old, he is not a relic, he is contemporaneous to the time period so it’s interesting seeing the subtle changes that they bring into play to show that but, oh, Doc is a professor, that’s right, Doc is a professor.  And Rosita’s a PhD student, that’s right, she’s studying meteorology. So I just like the dynamics that they brought over from the show without being overbearing about it you know? 

DELAYNE: Yeah, and there’s some good Earp sister moments too.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, they handle the Earp sister relationship really really nicely.

DELAYNE: We probably could have gone into more detail about that.

DARKWICCAN: Or we could talk to alterocentrist about it.

DELAYNE: Sounds like a fantastic idea.

DARKWICCAN:Yes, of course we have lined up an interview with the author of this story alterocentrist and I am excited to talk with them.  I want to find out more about the Earp sisters relationship, I want to find out more about their experience with storms, if they are a storm chaser themselves or if they have lived in Tornado Alley.  I want to know these things. So Delayne I’m sure you’ve got questions about shrubbery so why don’t we…

DELAYNE: [wild laughter]

DARKWICCAN: why don’t we go ahead and transition to our second segment [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]   
  


MUSIC: Monsoon by Chris Christodoulou

 

DARKWICCAN: Hey and welcome back everybody to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ the podcast entirely about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host Dark Wiccan and with me still in her raincoat and parka is my delightful co-host...

DELAYNE: Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: And we are super excited to have with us today the author of the fantastic story  _ Storm Season _ that we were discussing in the first half of our show today, alterocentrist, who has asked us to address us as Danielle today so Danielle welcome to the show.

DANIELLE: Hey everyone, nice to be here.

DARKWICCAN: Thank you so much for coming on man, this is a blast.  I’m looking forward to chatting with you about this.

DANIELLE: Yeah, yeah, same.  Yeah, I’ve been thinking about, “ooh, how could you be possibly interested, it was just this funny thing I did.” But I guess it was cool enough I guess.

DARKWICCAN: Well, it was super enjoyable.  One thing we were chatting about before we went into our little reverse sponsor spot is that this really is a romance, this story is a romance with a backdrop of storm chasing and we really enjoyed that.  But before we dive in to really grilling you on the story and how you came up with the ideas for it let’s get to know you a little more. How did you get into fanfiction?

DANIELLE: Um, I think I was in my first year of university and I decided  to start writing  _ Pretty Little Liars _ fanfiction.  That was really the first proper fandom I got into.  But that was really all on Fanfiction.net and I didn’t really start getting into Archive of Our Own until  _ Carmilla _ was a thing, and most of my most popular fics are from that fandom.  And I don’t know, there was one year that I just got really obsessed with  _ Wynonna Earp _ and Wayhaught and I decided to start getting into that and now the ideas just won’t stop coming.

DARKWICCAN: It’s funny how that happens with this particular show.

DANIELLE: And it’s a bit of a downhill slope into… into goodness I guess.

DELAYNE: Yeah, it’s not a bad downhill, it’s a fun ride.

DANIELLE: It’s not a bad downhill.  It’s a good downhill

DARKWICCAN: So what about Wayhaught captured your attention and has inspired you so much?

DANIELLE: I think it’s just they just feel like they’re meant to be but there’s nothing grand about it.  It’s just these two people that fit together in a way that it doesn’t feel like the whole world is kind of hinging on it, like it did in the other ships that I’ve shipped before.  But it’s kind of the first one where it’s just natural. I guess it’s because they’re not really the main characters of the show, they’re kind of just part of this ensemble but it doesn’t… they’re just there in the background making an example to everyone of romance.  But yeah, I just thought there’s nothing really grand about what the romance is like, so that just drew me in.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, there’s a certain degree of just comfort in their romance because it is so very natural feeling and it doesn’t feel like, as you say, huge plot points are hinging on whether or not they survive as a couple.  Because we know they’re going to.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Yeah, that helps.

DARKWICCAN: So forgive me but do I detect a hint of an accent?

DANIELLE: I’ve kind of have a weird accent because I moved to New Zealand just before I hit puberty I guess, and my parents travelled a lot for work so I just have this weird habit of picking up on everyone’s accent.  I have a lot of Irish co-workers and when I talk to them...

DELAYNE: [laughter] I just liked the way you said Irish.

DANIELLE: I was on a plane to Vancouver last year and I just was talking to someone and they were all coming back from the summer here to go back to their miserable Canadian winters, just after Christmas, and I was in the queue for the bathroom and the lady was like, “what part of Vancouver are you from?”  And I was like, “mmm no” and I was literally wearing a University of Auckland t-shirt.

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] Well you could have been an international student.

DANIELLE: I guess, but I didn’t look like someone who could afford the fees.

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN:  So where are you from originally?

DANIELLE: My family is from the Philippines but we travelled, when I was younger my mum had a job where she had to travel a lot so we came along with her.  So it’s just this weird thing that I just decided, when I was a kid I didn’t like sticking out too much so I would just copy however a person would talk and yeah I guess that’s what happened.

DARKWICCAN: You know it’s funny because when you told me that you’re based out of Auckland New Zealand I was like, “oh great, we’re getting another kiwi on the show.”  I was expecting to hear an accent more like Tigerlo’s accent, I don’t know if you’ve heard her episodes but she is actually based out of Wellington. So I was like, “okay, wait a minute.”

DANIELLE: They do talk a bit differently I guess.  Auckland’s a bit more, they have a bit more of a different diverse population so I guess we talk a bit differently.  In Wellington sometimes I don’t understand what they’re saying because they’re all efficient public servant bureaucrats down there.  They talk a bit fast. I’ve got a friend from Wellington where I just smile and nod when he talks sometimes. It’s not that different I guess to the untrained ear but when someone from Wellington is speaking I tend to miss out a few words, I guess they feel the same way about us Jaffas.  They don’t like Auckland that much. It’s actually our anniversary day today which is why I’m on holiday even though it’s a monday. It’s our birthday. It is the one day of the year that we can openly say that Auckland is the best city in New Zealand and the rest of the year we just let everyone hate on us, yeah. 

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Oh no, oh no.  Boy, you guys have got some rivalry.  And I thought the rivalry between Seattle Washington and Tacoma Washington was intense.  This sounds like serious.

DANIELLE: It’s pretty serious, I was just at a camp a couple of weeks ago, I was accompanying a bunch of teenagers to a camp, and we were the only ones there from Auckland and I just had to hear these people rip on Auckland all the time.  And when the one other Aucklander came up to me and we were talking about how there’s no good asian food in Wellington she said, “my Wellingtonian friends took me to this fusion place where they served us mince and cheese dumplings, like mince and cheese that you put in a meat pie, but put in rice papers.  And they thought it was the best thing ever but I just thought it was so horrible.” They say Aucklanders are weird trendy hipster people but they haven’t met Wellingtonians. I will get so much hate for this. Do you have many kiwi listeners?

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: I don’t know.

DANIELLE: Most of the people from the Earp fandom that I’ve met, or I’ve come across online on the internet from New Zealand are not from Auckland so...

DELAYNE: Well, they’re Earpers so hopefully they’re nice about it.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, Earpers are all for one and one for all.  But before we start a serious flame war over Wellington and Auckland let’s switch gears a little bit.  I have to ask do you get… are tornadoes a thing in New Zealand.

DANIELLE: No, I think we’re just too close to oceans on both sides.  It’s a skinny island, you can’t drive a hundred kms, you can drive a hundred kms in any direction and hit water every time.  So we don’t really get tornadoes. There was one, it knocked off a sign off a strip mall a couple of years ago.

DARKWICCAN: Phew.

DANIELLE: Yeah, that’s the worst it gets.  We get quite gnarly tropical storms which are more common around this side of the world but not really tornadoes.  But tropical storms are not as pretty as the storms that people chase, they’re not attractive at all. They’re just like big bunches of clouds.  And I teach a bit of geography, because that’s my day job, so I’m always really fascinated by weather that people can chase, because that never happens around here.  So that’s why I guess I was into tornadoes.

DARKWICCAN:  Gotcha, so you don’t personally have experience with actual tornadoes or storm chasing but you’re inspired and fascinated by being able to drive a distance without running out of room.

DANIELLE: Yeah, I wish I could chase storms in New Zealand but it’s just not a thing.  The storms just don’t get, like the storms you could see in other countries, especially in Tornado Alley in North America, beautiful storms as long as you don’t get too close.  But here it’s just ugly white bits of cloud that just, yeah.

DELAYNE: So, your inspiration is more that you wish a storm would come through and keep going instead of just sit and be all blah on you.

DANIELLE: My inspiration is always itching to become one of those people who do that, and being fascinated by the lives of the people who do that.  I don’t know if I ever ended up in those areas that I would go chasing one myself, but looking into the lives of the people who do that I think that’s interesting to me because that’s not really a thing here, or anywhere else I’ve really lived because we only get the typhoons and tropical storms which are different.  They look different. They’re not pretty.

DARKWICCAN: They’re ugly boring storms.

DELAYNE: Well, so you are interested in I guess the psychology of storm chasers?  Maybe.

DANIELLE: I just like people that explore.  I don’t know if you’ve read the one shot that I just posted a couple of weeks ago, where Wayhaught are writers and they go to writer’s festivals, it’s called The Festival Circuit, look it up.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, I loved it, loved it.

DANIELLE: But there was a part in the panel where Nicole goes, “oh humans, we’re not really built for the environments that we keep finding ourselves in, but we keep going and looking for them anyway.”  Like you don’t see other animals going, like a fish going, “ooh, I’d very much like to see what it’s like on land.” Because they’re brains aren’t wired that way, because they are wired to survive. Whereas humans are probably too curious for their own good, they keep running towards things that are supposed to kill them.  And I think that’s what I’m interested in. That’s what I talk about to my students when we talk about Antarctica. I told them that you’re not meant to be there but we are anyway. So I’m always interested in people like that and writing about people like that and maybe I’m not going to be one of those people taking it to the extreme, that’s what fictional characters are for.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, to live vicariously through.

DANIELLE: To do insane amounts of research and never actually leave your house.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Because Wynonna definitely seems like this kind of character.  Her ability to chase storms and be in those environments kind of seems on point. So when Wynonna left Waverly she didn’t really consider her feelings in this story.  Was this kind of a nod to canon or just a plot point.

DANIELLE: I think that’s just their dynamic, like Wynonna always does things and makes decisions in canon thinking, “oh this will be the best thing for Waverly,” without actually asking Waverly.  Like she doesn’t know how to take care of Waverly in a way that’s properly what we would consider taking care of someone is. She takes care of Waverly by trying to protect her, you know shooting people for her, walking into a trailer park full of revenants.  Leaving. You know, she left. In the show she was just coming back for her uncle’s funeral but she had left because she thought she was trying to avoid the curse as much as possible, thinking it’s not going to bother Waverly. So I don’t think she necessarily doesn’t think of her, but she just thinks it’s the best way because she doesn’t see herself as a nurturing type of person, she’s always in this really rough state, she doesn’t really know how to take care of people.

DARKWICCAN: That makes sense.  Her first instinct is to knock her sister’s girlfriend and friends out to quote unquote protect her.  That’s not very nurturing.

DANIELLE: No, she’s really not.  She’s really not very nurturing.

DARKWICCAN: So how did you decide what professions each of the characters would have?  I thought your idea of having Wynonna be a photographer was rather inspired.

DANIELLE: I think that’s the main way people get into storm chasing if they don’t have any formal education.  They get a camera, video camera or otherwise, and they film the storms and they sell it off to the news networks which pay big money to be able to show the footage because they’re not going to go out there and risk insurance for their journalists to do that themselves.  So they get storm chasers to do it. So I think that’s something she’d be like, “oh I live in this area that gets tornadoes and crazy ass storms every year, maybe I can make some money,” buying a camera and just driving around these crazy storms. So that was why I chose Wynonna’s profession.  Dolls I wanted to give him something that had a bit more of a military, not military but institutionalized I guess profession, so his job working as like a risk management type of person for the government. That’s a big thing in New Zealand, I’m not sure how big it is in Canada, I might have over inflated the job a little bit.  But in New Zealand all the natural features are trying to kill you in some way so that’s kind of a job here. It’s not like Australia, okay now I’m going to start hating on Australia...

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN:  We expect that.

DANIELLE: Where every living creature is trying to kill you.  But in New Zealand everyone’s like, “oh, an earthquake”, “the rivers trying to kill you”, the beaches you have to check on an app if it’s safe to swim on them because there might be sewage.

DARKWICCAN: Oh, um.

DANIELLE: Yeah, it’s a strange place.  But that’s where I got the idea for Dolls’ job.  And you know Jeremy and Rosita are just straight up scientists because that’s what they are.  And Doc I had the idea of him to be a professor because he’s already a doc anyway but at the same time there had to be a reason why he had to come… because he’s originally from Georgia.  He’s American right?

DARKWICCAN: Right.

DANIELLE: In some fics they just make him Canadian but I thought it would be nice if he was a Georgian person, a person from Georgia, who came to Tornado Alley and just decided to start living there because he’s researching tornadoes because that’s a thing that he does. And Nicole, park ranger.  I just like the idea of Nicole being outdoors which in canon she does too. [several inaudible words] weekend excursions, I still remember that episode. But I’m not sold on the idea of Nicole being a cop, I don’t know why. I know it’s canon but I never write her as being a cop. I know a lot of other people do but I just don’t so I thought she can be a park ranger, the uniforms look cool too.

DELAYNE: Well, at least in the US there are a lot of park rangers that are essentially officers.

DANIELLE: Yeah, they have guns and stuff.

DELAYNE: It’s like combining the both of best worlds for me is park ranger Nicole because she’s a cop and an outdoors person, so I’m here for it.

DARKWICCAN: Did you say, “the both of best worlds.”

DANIELLE: I wasn’t going to say anything but okay.

DARKWICCAN: No no, this is what I do.

DELAYNE: Um, my brain mixes up words so yes I believe I did say that and then tried to fix it and screwed it up even more so you can just shove it, you know what I meant.

DARKWICCAN:  [laughter] Sorry Delayne.

DELAYNE: That’s okay.  So out of all of these characters which was your favorite to write, and which was the most difficult to put into the universe.

DANIELLE: Favorite to write would be Waverly.  Although I like to think of myself as more of a Nicole my mindset is more Waverly, I’d rather just read about things  [laughter]  and I’m usually the person that would rather just stick around somewhere instead of going out and putting myself in danger.  I love going outside and things like that but if I am given a choice between chasing storms and sitting at home reading books and doing everyone’s laundry I would rather do the latter.  Um, I really liked writing from her perspective for this fic anyway, because she’s the one that gets left behind, well you don’t see a lot of the storm chasing action in the fic, she’s the one that gets left behind from all these weird adventures while everyone else is having a crazy time out there.  And what does a person do when she’s alone, because that’s what she is in canon, she was pretty much left alone, she had an uncle with her but she was pretty much left alone by her family, not on purpose and kind of on purpose from Wynonna’s end, so how does a person cope with that is one of the things that I was thinking about.  And the person that was most difficult to write, the character that was most difficult to write into the fic, was probably Doc because even in the show sometimes I don’t know what he’s doing.  [laughter]  I don’t quite know what his purpose is, I know he’s really good at shooting guns and he has connections with dodgy people but otherwise he’s kind of just there to be funny and occasionally sleep with Wynonna and just make bad decisions all the time.  He really doesn’t have a thing he’s an expert in that would really be useful in the world that they’re living, like he knows just as much as anyone else does in canon. Even though I like his personality and everything so it was really difficult for me to find a space for him and you can see that in the fic, he really doesn’t say much to do with storm chasing.  He just kind of makes wise cracks.

DELAYNE: [laughter] Well, that’s what professors I’ve dealt with seem like they do sometimes.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, it seemed very true to form for a professor so I think…

DANIELLE: Just let’s his assistants to the work.

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: That’s what the PAs are for.

DANIELLE: That’s what bringing a PhD student along is for I guess.

DARKWICCAN: So you commented on how Waverly is left alone a lot and kind of focusing on what does a person do when they are left alone.  I’m assuming that when you set out to write this piece you never really intended to focus on the storm chasing, it was more about that being the hanger on which the clothes of the story hang from.  It’s really more about Waverly and then Waverly and Nicole, am I on the right track there?

DANIELLE: Okay, when I first planned this piece it was supposed to be about the relationship between the sisters and how Waverly keeps getting left behind and that Wynonna would rather be around all these other people than be with Waverly, than spend the summer with Waverly while she’s on summer break.  And then it was originally going to be Waverly, there was a reason Waverly tags along and becomes part of the team and that was how her and Nicole get close to each other. But I guess it evolved into something where Waverly stays behind and Nicole is this new person that comes in and kind of disrupts the dynamic that’s happened for years that Waverly thought she was okay with.  That leads to her kind of thinking about connecting with another person, because you know if she was okay with it, there were a few bits of introspection in the fic where she was like, “oh I’ll just read this book, I’ll just watch Netflix.” These people she considers family even though she doesn’t see them for half the summer, but then having Nicole there is like… her attraction to Nicole and that Nicole keeps having to go off on these trips is disrupting her routine, the emotional routine that she puts herself into by having to deal with this for so many summers running already.  Yeah and that’s why I guess it’s probably Waverly learning not to be alone after all. You’re making me think really deep about my fic.

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Well, that’s what we do here, we think deep thoughts about fanfiction.  Oh man, well Danielle this has been a lot of fun chatting with you today. You’re hilarious and but also incredibly thoughtful and it’s been a treat to listen to you work through your thought processes and developing the storyline for this fantastic story  _ Storm Season _ .  Thank you for taking a little time out of your day to come and chat with us a little.

DANIELLE: Thank you, it’s been really fun and I hope that you guys are enjoying your winter.

DARKWICCAN:  Yeah, it’s not been that bad, it’s not been that bad.  And while I’ve got you here I do want to take a quick second to plug your current multi-chapter fic  _ No Place For Promises Here _ .  I am loving this story.  It is so awesome you guys.

DANIELLE: I think what I really like about it is deciding to write from Wynonna’s point of view.  I’ve never done it before so I think that’s what I’m really liking. And yeah, you guys should read it because I’m almost finished writing it.  Almost, almost finished.

DARKWICCAN: Ooh, almost.  But hey before I let you go so you can finish your work on  _ No Place For Promises Here _ we do have one last question to ask you.

DANIELLE: Okay, hit me.

DELAYNE: Alright, you are stranded on a desert island with only one fanfic to read.  What is it?

DANIELLE: Is it on paper or on Kindle?

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] It’s just beamed directly into your head.

DELAYNE: Actually that’s a very interesting question.

DANIELLE: If it’s beamed directly into my head then hopefully they have made a movie out of it.  But it would have to be, hang on I need to search up my bookmarks because I was choosing between two, I would have chosen between two.  Because I had just actually gone on a trip recently with no wifi or anything so I was trying to save fics on my tablet.

DARKWICCAN: So you have real world applications here.

DANIELLE: Yeah, I have a real world application of being stuck at camp with a bunch of teenagers with no wifi and my tablet broke so I couldn’t even take fic anyway.  So I was either on Kindle or on paper, should I print it out? No, it’s too much.

DELAYNE: Print it out and carry it with me, just in case.

DANIELLE: Yeah, but I would say  _ A Place is Only a Place _ by Thrace.  Which I don’t know if you guys have read it?  You’ve read everything.

DARKWICCAN: _ A Place is Only a Place _ by Thrace, which is a fantastic rhyme.

DANIELLE: Yeah, it’s the one at season two what would have happened it Waverly and Nicole took Alice and ran away with them, like if that was the plan.  If Wynonna just said, “take Waverly, and Alice, and get the hell out of Purgatory” what would have happened and I think that was, it’s just so great, I read it in one night, I did not sleep and then woke up and read it again.

DARKWICCAN: More than excited to provide a link to  _ A Place Is Only A Place _ by Thrace and not just because it’s a delightful rhyme.

DANIELLE: It is a delightful rhyme.

DARKWICCAN:  Because it is a terrific story, and I look forward to seeing how you wrap up  _ No Place For Promises Here _ .  I am very keen.  I’ve been really enjoying watching you write and post stories for this fandom, it’s been terrific.

DANIELLE: Thank you.

DARKWICCAN: Well, we’re going to let you go back to hating on Wellington and finishing your writing and throwing a few jabs in the direction of Antarctica.

DANIELLE: Wellington is actually quite cool, the museums there are quite cool and you can walk around the city, not like in Auckland where everything’s too big but yeah guys, work on your food, c’mon.

DELAYNE: [laughter]

DARKWICCAN: [laughter] I can’t stop laughing.

DANIELLE: They always say their coffee is better but coffee cannot feed a family.

DARKWICCAN: This is true.  It can make them regular.

DANIELLE: Good chinese food can.  Good dumplings can.

DARKWICCAN:  [laughter]  This is getting out of control, alright. Go enjoy your dumplings and coffee and have a terrific rest of your holiday there in Auckland today.

DANIELLE: Alright.

  
  


And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.   
  
Tremendous thanks to Danielle for chatting with us today.   
  
  
Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro    
  
Background music for the episode was:   
  
A Proper Story and Spike in a Rail by Darren Korb   
  
  
Monsoon by Chris Christodoulou   
  
and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan   
  
  
If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast.    
  
And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.   
  
And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.   
  
  
Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
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	19. Sweet Tweets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week DW and Delayne go online to explore the world of Social Media AU'S!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/sweet-tweets)

 

Read the Fics!

[Tara's Social Media AU](https://twitter.com/topsheIfass/status/1027413217289617408)

 

[@nothaught's Grey's Anatomy/WE Social Media AU](https://twitter.com/nothaught/status/1082782934929686528)

 

[jess's Social Media WayHaught Pride AU](https://twitter.com/wavverlyearp/status/1076986976476241920)

 

 

Tara's Desert Island Fic: [“just one dance”](https://t.co/Z83MJCqcR6) by styl

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [MrsBlueBacon](https://twitter.com/MrsBlueBacon)

 

EFA Episode 219- Sweet Tweets

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy and welcome everybody to this week’s episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me furiously tweeting into her phone is my delightful cohost--

 

DELAYNE : Hold on a minute. Oh, HI, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] You made me wait while you finished what you were tweeting?

 

DELAYNE : Yes, it’s very important. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, ok, you got me there. I mean, I’m constantly making you wait while I tweet out recommendations on the E F A feed, so alright.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I think you’ve just gotten use to me holding my finger in your face and going “bear with, bear with.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I am picturing that so easily right now. It’s amazing. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I know. I know, right?! [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ya know, I have a picture from ClexaCon of all of us sitting around the table all on our phones. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, that, I mean, that’s just it, isn’t it? That is the way of socializing today. Not only do we occasionally remember to socialize with each other in person, but primarily, especially if you’re in a marginalized group, you tend to create connections and friendships and communicate over social media.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s just the way the world works now.

 

DELAYNE : Indeed, and uh so much so that uh, even when you’re in the presence of other people, ...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Clearly.

 

DELAYNE : ...you will tweet them or message them so ya know, other people cannot overhear your conversation.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm, which, now that to me is like, like the future equivalent, and by future I mean present, but I’m casting my mind back to my school days...

 

DELAYNE : [coughs]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...but the future equivalent of passing notes in class, right?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, I didn’t really pass notes, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : You didn’t pass notes?

 

DELAYNE : No.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh man. What did you do in class, pay attention? Weirdo.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, I actually did, ‘cause if you pay attention then you don’t actually have to study, I found.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I didn’t pay attention and I didn’t study either, and I did ok.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, well, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I don’t know, half of my classes were music classes, by my senior year so it really didn’t matter anyway. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] But before we continue down this social media wormhole, uh, we have a couple things to put out there. 

 

[CONTENT CENSORED. VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

DARKWICCAN : But wait, there’s more.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But wait, oh, we’re talking about some fics today, aren’t we. Kind of a little...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : ...different arena than we normally do.

 

DARKWICCAN : Let me tell ya, we were talking before we started recording, and I gotta agree with you, these fics make me feel old.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I, uh, oh, we, we were in the uh, the generation that first saw the internet um, ya know A O L chat rooms and how that influenced us growing up, but this is like a whole new different thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : [said in an old person accent] Back in our day...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...we had things like geocities and livejournal. This new finglefangled [ph] Twitter, I just don’t know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] [said in an old person accent] I remember when signing onto the internet took fifteen minutes of perpetual [static dial up sound] noises and you, you prayed that your parents didn’t hear you when you were trying to logon...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...at eleven o’clock at night.

 

DELAYNE : Oh man, well, that was the only time you could logon without someone calling and interrupting your stupid signal.

 

DARKWICCAN : [said in an old person accent] How many times did our parents yell at us for bogging down the phone line?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [said in an old person accent] We had to login uphill two, two ways.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uphill, both ways. Oh, my gosh.

 

DARKWICCAN : [said in an old person accent]  Yes, often in the rain and unrelenting snow storms.

 

DELAYNE : Ok, now we.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, I think that bit has run its course. It is now dead.

 

DELAYNE : Oh. Yes. Thoroughly beaten and dead. So, what we are talking about today is essentially social media AUs that are actually taking place on Twitter.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, yes. They are mainly called social media AUs. I’ve heard them called Tweet fics, Twit fics, Twitter fics.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause when I thought, we should do Twitter fics, I wanna give a quick shout out to those who sort of post little ficlets that often will inspire, it’s like a drabble, or snipet and then they’ll go flush it out more and post it on A O 3, but it’s ya know, a proper, uh, story as you would see on A O 3, and then there’s the ones where you’ll get two people doing a back and forth taking over the fic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm, mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And some of those are great too. But, uh, generally they’re just brief moments, not enough to really get fully into. These social media AUs though, wow.

 

DARKWICCAN : They are involved, man. These are involved. Like, and I think we do have to say that they can be difficult to follow. And I’m not saying that ‘cause I’m, ya know, a middle aged individual...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...who has ya know, I’m actually pretty savvy on Twitter.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yes, yes you are.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, but, ya know, because you have these, one of the stories that we’ll get to later, has I mean, probably over a thousand tweets in this thread of the story.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, a thousand, plus. And so if you’re reading and you get a text, like say you’re reading on your phone, like that’s how I read most stuff.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Reading the thread on my phone and I get a text from someone and I need to reply to it, and I click out of Twitter to answer the text, when I go back to Twitter it is then just...

 

DELAYNE : Some...

 

DARKWICCAN : ... a monumental undertaking...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...to get back to where I was, so these are kind of fics that you need to read in real time as they’re posting um, or at least try to get in on them real early so that you’re not having to do too much catch up, but that being said, they’re highly entertaining and the amount of work that goes into these?

 

DELAYNE : Oh my goodness.

 

DARKWICCAN : Is truly impressive.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I’d hate to do another “back in my day”, but I’m gonna go there real quick.

 

DARKWICCAN : Go ahead. [said in an old person accent] Do it! Do it! Go back.

 

DELAYNE : I remember some fics that uh, where, ya know, the ship would meet online, so you had a little brief, either indented or, like a chat room it was text back and forth, and that would usually be, it wouldn’t be the bulk of the fic, but it definitely would set up some scenes and develop some dialogue between the characters, but it was always, like I said, it was just a part of the whole fic. And these are full on, like, social media accounts that are created and it’s not just the two characters that is the ship that it’s following. This is everyone [laughter], all of the characters...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...have their own accounts and some of them...

 

DARKWICCAN : Frequently multiple accounts.

 

DELAYNE : ...have stan accounts which are their anonymous fan accounts and it’s, I can’t even, how do they keep track of it all?

 

DARKWICCAN : I, ya know, I think it’s because the folks that are writing these, are young and so this is the language that they speak. This is the, ya know, interface that they’re use to, so for them it’s just, it’s easier, it’s easier for them than say for you or I to set something like this up.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Give me a geocities website, man, I can...

 

DARKWICCAN : There you go.

 

DELAYNE : ...H T M L that thing all over the place.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right? But, ok, so, so the thing that these all have in common, as Delayne said, they take place on social media. So, uh, even though they might have different themes, uh, they, that’s their commonality, is that they all have characters who have Twitter accounts, often multiple Twitter accounts, um, one professional, one stan or personal, and they’re also communicating to each other in group chats.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, lots of group chats.

 

DARKWICCAN : And then they’re, right. And then where there are moments when we need a more flushed out narrative, then what they’ll, typically they’ll write up that narrative in like their notepad app in their phone, take a picture of it, then post that text, so um, so, it’s a lot, you guys. They’re even creating, like, fake memes to have the characters send each other.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And it’s, it truly is impressive. It really is impressive.

 

DELAYNE : It is. It really seems real, and it really mimics what I’ve seen on Twitter, of the younger crowd, when they interact with each other, I mean, it is on point.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. So, why don’t we dive in here and, and start kinda talking about the three social media AUs that we have selected to chat about today.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright, so the first one is actually kind of, of the three, the first one is actually kind of my favorite...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...as far as the story goes, uh, but I have to admit, I mean, it’s kind of, for me, being, being a middle aged person...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...as I’ve said before, it is a little bit, ya know, like, “oh come on. These people wouldn’t actually talk to each other this way” but at the same time “well, maybe they would.” Ya know, if they were young enough and they were fresh out of school maybe they would talk, and they have an established relationship they’ve built up over time, maybe this is how they would talk to each other. Uh, and I’m just being an old fart...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and saying this. They’re communicating immaturely.

 

DELAYNE : I agree with you. The, the, god, I feel like I’m so old when I say things like this, but the generation now that is making these and writing like this, when, in ten years, when they’re all doctors, are they gonna be communicating with each other the same? I mean, is that...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. No, by then we’ll have had Twitter implanted in our minds...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and we’ll just be thought communicating. So, this first one is called, it’s not called anything, it’s a, that’s another thing about these social media AUs, they don’t actually have titles, but this one is a WayHaught  _ Grey’s Anatomy _ mash-up AU. And it’s by Twitter user @nothaught. That’s N O T and then Haught, as in Nicole, so @nothaught, and um, it’s, the way they have it set up is that Waverly is a neurosurgeon, uh, Rosita is a plastic surgeon, uh, Wynonna is an orthopedic surgeon...

 

DELAYNE : She likes to break bones. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...Xavier is...she likes to break bones!

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Xavier is a trauma surgeon, Chrissy is a pedia, pediatric, uh, person.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I wrote peds chief.

 

DARKWICCAN : Pediatrician. There we go, pediatrician. Um, John Henry Holliday is the chief of surgery and Gus is the head of the hospital.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Director of the hospital.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You forgot Jeremy, who is Rosita’s intern.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, that’s right. Jeremy is Rosita’s intern. And, ya know what, like, I think that Jeremy as Rosita’s intern is believable um, but at the same time, I totally see him more as a pediatrician, and I totally see, I would, like, he, maybe he should be pediatrics under Chrissy, but ya know what, he and Rosita, ya know.

 

DELAYNE : Ya know, there’s always the opportunity that this could change. There’s lots of drama in these hospital shows.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s true. That’s absolutely true.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, who haven’t we mentioned yet? We have not mentioned.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Is there a new doctor on staff, perhaps?

 

DARKWICCAN : [fake gasp] Could there be a new hot shot, haught shot doctor coming in?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Someone with an incredible record as being one of the top cardiothoracic surgeons in the country?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Sounds about right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. That’s right. Nicole Ha, Doctor Nicole Haught has accepted a position at Purgatory General Hospital and this is, it’s so hilarious because we find out in this group chat communication amongst the surgeons...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...at the hospital, that Waverly has had a crush on Doctor Nicole Haught for ages, like since um, visit, going to a, attending a conference right?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Like, years ago, is what Wynonna says. So, she literally, like, has this mental break [laughter] when she realizes that Nicole Haught is coming to Purgatory General Hospital and it’s hilarious.

 

DELAYNE : Major gay panic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Supes gay panic. Super duper gay panic.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Like, wow. And I love how everyone in the group chat is getting annoyed because Waverly will literally just jump into the group chat, scream Nicole Haught, and then leave.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, they start tweeting on their personal accounts uh, ya know, and, and everyone’s still annoyed with Waverly. Waverly won’t shut up about Nicole Haught, but this time instead of screaming Nicole Haught, she’ll just type N asterisk asterisk H asterisk asterisk asterisk. So, it is really funny that this, that this um, medical doctor who has gone through what, at this point, twelve years of, of um, medical, of schooling, right?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : To get this this point, residency, and now, internship, residency and what have you, is losing her mind...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...over this person she’s barely really ever met, so, I just thought that was quite funny.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I also like the fact that Waverly and Nicole do not hit it off to begin with, Waverly is not amused by constantly being misnamed, and she’s convinced that Nicole is just horrible. And it’s really sweet, what happens to bring them to a point, a place of neutral ground and understanding and um, respect for each other.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t wanna like, give away too much.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : We’ll provide links, of course, for each of these threads in the show notes, um, ‘cause I can’t just say “go to A O 3 and type in this author’s name…”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, as you, we always provide links, but I’ll definitely be providing links, I don’t wanna give away too much, this is a fairly new uh, story, so they’re not that deep into it yet. You can start at the beginning and catch up relatively quickly. That is one nice thing about these.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s not hard to read them quickly because so much of it is quick conversations...

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...between people or groups and that’s really easy to read and quick to read. Um, but yeah, so where we’ve left off, they’re, at the point of this recording, is there is a big, um, fundraising gala thing.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I said “fancy dress ball”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, at, for the hospital, so everybody gets to dress up and look they’re absolute sexy best.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, that’s where we’ve left off.

 

DELAYNE : Look forward to that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yes. So, so stumbling right along then, I think.

 

DELAYNE : Alright, I would like to talk about what is referred to as the WayHaught Pride AU. And that is written by Waverly Earp, so @wavverlyearp. Um.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, Wavv-erly [ph] Earp.

 

DELAYNE : Um, and I like how one thing about these fics that maybe we should have mentioned in the intro, is that the pictures that they’re using, ya know they’re not coming from the show. A lot of them are coming from the actors themselves. So, a lot of the pictures are coming from the actors and uh, ya know, it’s what’s available, so I think when we get to the fancy dress ball, that’s when we’re gonna see some good photos. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, for the  _ Grey’s Anatomy _ one?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, for the  _ Grey’s Anatomy _ one. And so, we start out with the WayHaught Pride AU with Waverly Earp getting ready to go and support Jeremy [laughter] at pride, and she’s dressed up as a unicorn.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh gosh.

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause, by golly there’s a picture of Dom dressed up as a unicorn at a pride parade.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : So, I do thin accessibility to photos will tend to influence, ya know, where these fics are going and where they’re coming from, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : I think that played a big part in this one because, like I said, we’re attending Purgatory Pride, and, and uh, the author, whose name is listed as jess, wrote, “both Waverly and Nicole attend Purgatory Pride and after bumping into each other, literally, and a five second conversation, Waverly is the only thing on Nicole’s mind, but without even her name, can Twitter help Nicole find her?”

 

DARKWICCAN : Ooh, can it? Can it Delayne?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] So, I really like the setup of this fic, um, and I like how it’s using Twitter like we’ve seen Twitter used before when someone’s, ya know, when someone’s encountered someone out in the wild, like “Twitter, help me find this person.” I think this is adorable and by golly, by the, by, so part one we’re at pride and everyone is really drunk [laughter], and Waverly does literally bump into Nicole and then part two is “Twitter, do your thing.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, so anyway, it doesn’t take very long for Waverly at pride, after bumping into Nicole, to realize maybe she’s not so straight. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, I do like the way this is formatted. Uh, they have it broken up into chapters with chapter headings and chapter images, so that if you’re scrolling through, back through, like I mentioned earlier, if you leave Twitter ‘cause you’re on your phone and you have to click out and answer a text or something like that, uh, if you get back into it, it’s actually easy to find your spot because you’re able to scroll and see these large block images at the heading of the chapters and you are, so you know where you left off and you can find it really easily. Another thing I like about this one is that, in addition to the photos that have obviously been borrowed...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...lovingly borrowed...

 

DELAYNE : Lovingly borrowed, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...from the casts’, uh, personal account and other social media photos that we’ve seen from the cast online, they also use some pretty, they have some pretty clever usage of stock photos, uh, like from behind, ya know, photos taken of the back...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...of someone’s head that could be Dom or could be Kat as these characters, um, ya know, so just really clever, clever things there, so it, yeah, it’s...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...there’s of course drama...

 

DELAYNE : Oh my gosh.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...because communication is a thing.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s interesting because these stories are based in the idea of communication in the modern world, right?

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, and because we communicate largely text based these days, you don’t get a lot of vocal inflection, so you could misunderstand the meaning of something, so there are misunderstandings, there’s a little bit of, uh, confusion of the meaning of people in other people’s lives and things like that. And, um, yeah, I think it’s a very cute...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...a cute story. It’s well structured.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, I enjoyed it a lot and I do, I must say, especially in this one, but also kind of the last one, I feel like Doc most of the time. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Being truly confused about what’s going on. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : “How do you do this internet thing?”

 

DARKWICCAN : Right?

 

DELAYNE : Like, I really had to Google what “oomph” was. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’ve had to Google quite a few things, I’m not gonna lie, but I’m not going to admit what they were.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I’m sure there was more I had to look up, but I will admit to looking up “oomph”. [laughter] “How do you say that? Why did you teach Doc to use his phone?”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Anyway.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so let’s talk about our third fic today, and this is, it may not be the first social media AU, but it does seem to be the one that has launched this trend of social media AUs. It is exceptionally long.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It started back in August.

 

DARKWICCAN : Of twenty eighteen, let’s make that clear. August of twenty eighteen, and it has got thousands of posts in this thread.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Thousands of tweets in this thread telling the story and it has been a wild ride.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, the characters in this story are high school students, and so that’s helpful, given that they’re communicating in very young language, uh, [said in an old person accent] says the old fart.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Oh, I feel ya.

 

DARKWICCAN : But yeah, it was, ya know, [laughter] uh, before I dive a little more into that, let me tell you what this is. This is [laughter], this is, it’s just called the WayHaught Social Media AU, and it is by top shelf ass.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Also known as Tara. It is @ top S H E I F A S S.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, it’s an “I”. I see.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s an “I”.

 

DELAYNE : That’s why I was not able to look it up earlier.

 

DARKWICCAN : I before ass except after sass. Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so if I were to read this phonetically, it would be top she if ass.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But I’m sure that Tara means it to be pronounced top shelf ass.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, yeah, as Delayen said, this story was started in August of twenty eighteen. It has run the gamut of emotions and plot twists and dramas.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, ‘cause it is definitely a high school AU. Most of them are seniors. Waves is a junior. Doc is graduated. I’m hoping that he’s maybe just like a year ahead of them, is how I was trying to picture it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I hope so, otherwise it gets weird.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but um, yeah, I mean, there are so many gamuts that these kids get into.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my god.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s kind of, there’s, it’s a lot. It’s a lot of stuff. And there’s a lot of people swapping partners and ya know, um, dramas with exes within the group, and they’re constantly betting each other and challenging each other.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It took me quite a while, I admit, to understand what was happening when someone would end a sentence with the word “bet” and it just seemed completely incongruous and I’m like, “is that just a way of saying ‘eh’, like. Oh, no, they’re actually betting each other, ok.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And then they were ending sentences with just randomly saying challenge, like, “oh, so that is a challenge like the cinnamon challenge, ok, now I understand.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Oh, and this one, this one they do have the stan accounts, and of course it’s hilarious that they then start talking to each other on their stan accounts.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Particularly Waverly and Nicole, and don’t realize they’re talking to each other.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, yeah. Like the other AUs, this one seems to be the one that launched the thousand ships of other Twitter fics.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, um, uh, I, I, I, it’s weird for me to say, “like the other AUs” as if it was inspired by the other AUs or is taking something, a clue from the other AUs, but this is the one that seemed to start everything off, so um, as the other AUs also did, this story uses the actors’ personal photos that have been posted to social media, ya know, that um, and are public and all that, and they also mix in, gosh, there’s a lot going on here.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : They mix in some um, stock photos here and there, but they really do try to use photos that the cast have posted, or that have been posted of the cast to the public forum.

 

DELAYNE : Which is great because when you have um, Dom and Melanie and their pictures, and then it’s like cute little sister pictures doing stuff together behind, ya know, that were behind the scenes of Dom and Mel.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah, it works great.

 

DELAYNE : It’s frickin’ fantastic. It’s so cute. It’s just so cute. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I just, yeah, and I just wonder how much work goes into creating these graphics of these group chats. Ya know.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, my goodness.

 

DARKWICCAN : Maybe not so much the group chats, but like fake tweets...

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...because I mean I know that you can go onto Google and you can look up, ya know, fake iPhone message, or whatever, and you can create a fake iPhone message that you can then screen shot, so I know that’s relatively easy to do, but still, I mean, they’ve gotta load up all these individual photos that they’ve grabbed, and then they’re making their two versions of their accounts, their personal accounts, their stan accounts.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : They’re having to come up with all these tweets, then photoshop the tweets, I mean, it’s a lot.

 

DELAYNE : It is a lot, I, one of my favorite ones is the ones where Wynonna is typing up a message is and then doesn’t send it, so you have a couple frames with the keyboard, ya know, [laughter], some...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : half typed, unsent messages. I, that’s, ya know, it’s extra work, but that makes it, that makes it so real, like the indecisiveness of sending a tweet. Especially when you’re...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, exactly.

 

DELAYNE : ...interested in someone. So, it’s a lot of work, but it works really well and wonderfully.

 

DARKWICCAN : It really does. And I do like how this story truly captures that contemporary lang, ya know, youthful, what’s the word I’m, slang.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : You know what I’m trying to say. Yeah. The short hand that they use, have with each other.

 

DELAYNE : It’s like a whole new language. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It is, it is kind of like a whole new language, uh, I’m trying to think of, did you happen to note down all of the various um, couplings that have happened in this story, by chance?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] No, I have not. I uh, it’s, it’s changed too much. Especially Wynonna.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh my gosh. Wynonna.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, yeah, you’ve got your constants right. Nicole and Waverly, they’re a constant.

 

DELAYNE : They had a brief moment, some drama.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, but...

 

DELAYNE : The kiss.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that’s just the course of the storytelling, that’s gonna happen. Otherwise it gets kind of dull if there isn’t something that you can get anxious about.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Is Robin in this story?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I know Carmilla and Laura are in this story.

 

DELAYNE : I do, I do like that sort of extra bit um, they’re a great support cast for this group. Especially as teenagers. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, absolutely. And so Laura and Carmilla are another solid couple, but then of course they also go through, everybody goes through dramas.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It happens.

 

DARKWICCAN : It just, it does. Something that Tara does that none of the other authors have done, to this degree, um, is that Tara will run polls.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : But they’re entirely vague polls and you have no real idea what you’re voting for. Like she’ll just have a poll that says “yes or no”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Or she’ll have a poll that say, that just has...

 

DELAYNE : One, two, and three.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...an initial option. One, two, and three are H, V, and R. And you’re like “I don’t...H?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you don’t know what you’re voting for, but I assume she knows.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, it would be kind of a dirty trick if she was like, if she was like “these polls are meaningless. I totally don’t know what direction I’m going in.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : “And I don’t need to ask, I’m just gonna mess with people and make them think they have some play in influencing the story.” Uh.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, I didn’t even think about that. That’s good.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, yeah, because they’re so vague. A poll that’s just “yes, no” and nothing else.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but there is so much going on in this story at this point, as I said, it’s thousands of tweets long. Can you go back to the beginning and read all the way through? Yes, you can. Uh, it’s gonna take you awhile, just because of the shear length of it.

 

DELAYNE : Open a tab. [laughter] On you, and never close it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Keep a tab open, keep a tab. Yeah, don’t read it on your phone.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Read it on a desktop. If you’re going in to read from the beginning, read it on a desktop so you don’t have to click out of Twitter to, ya know, answer whatever.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, yeah. Um, and what was I gonna, right. It’s so long and there’s so many twists and turns that this story has gone through, it’s that we can’t give you, we can’t really give you a summary.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I will say that that it is winding down. Tara has said that she is coming into the very end of the story at this point, and the end appears to be centered around the group graduating from high school and moving onto their various colleges and universities and trade schools and vocational schools. So, that seems to be where we’re going. There is a question mark up in the air about how everyone’s relationships will survive.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but, yeah, it is, it is expansive, it is, I know I keep using the word impressive, maybe I should look up a synonym.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But, I mean, it is really, the sheer size of this and length of time it has gone on...

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...is mind boggling to me.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah. [laughter] So much so that all I can do is sit here and go “yeah”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. So, why don’t we stop jabbering on about it and bring on uh, the person themselves who has written this immense and, and um, inspirational, because it’s inspired so many other stories.

 

DELAYNE : Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, social media AU. Let’s talk to Tara.

 

DELAYNE : That sounds like a fantastic idea.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome. But before we do that, Delayne, you know we gotta do one more thing.

 

DELAYNE : Indeed we do. 

 

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

MUSIC : Journey of the Prairie King by Erik Barone

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody, and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I remain your host, DarkWiccan, and with me furiously uploading a new video to her Instagram stories is my fantastic cohost--

 

DELAYNE : [pause] Hold on. Just a minute. Ok, just...Delayne! Hi.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know, we need to have a talk about how social media is negatively impacting my life.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] As in your social media is negatively impacting me right now, while we’re trying to record this segment.

 

DELAYNE : Sorry.

 

DARKWICCAN : You couldn’t have uploaded that story earlier? Geez.

 

DELAYNE : Ya know, let’s just get on with this.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright, ok, ok.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Geez. Listen, I don’t wanna talk to you anyway. I wanna talk to our guest. Our fantastic guest who wrote the amazing social media AU that we were chatting about just before we went to break and that is the fantastic Tara. Tara, welcome to the show.

 

TARA : Hi, thanks for having me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you for coming on. So, Tara, would you say that you are a social media expert at this point?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : [snicker] Well, expert is a little extreme, but uh, I mean, I dabble in social media, I guess you could say.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I’d say that you more than dabble. You have this, you’ve got quite a presence on the old Twitter.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : These days. You’ve got more followers than, let me think, I think you have more followers than we have, which I guess that shouldn’t be that impress...Yeah, yeah you do. You have more followers than we do. So, you’re doin’ something right. Teach me, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : [laughter] Just listen to what people want and then do the exactly opposite, basically.

 

DARKWICCAN : Be contrary. Excellent advice.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Be a contrarian, alright. Ok. Writing this down. “Be a contrarian.” Alright. Uh, [laughter] so obviously you’re quite adept at the Twitter game. Uh, what, no, not what got you into social media. I’m assuming you’re a younger person.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Yeah, I just turned eighteen, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

TARA : Fairly young, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : You are officially the youngest person we’ve ever had on the show.

 

DELAYNE : Yep. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Gosh, I feel old. [laughter] We were actually joking...

 

DELAYNE : We may have mentioned that in the first segment. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, we were actually joking about how this story made us feel old because we’re like [said in an old person accent] “what do you mean I gotta scroll through all the twits. Get to the story.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, what got you hooked on  _ Wynonna Earp _ ?

 

TARA : I was just bored one day and going through Netflix. And this show, I heard a lot about it so I thought “why not?” Then, all the sudden I was hooked and couldn’t stop thinking about  _ Wynonna Earp _ just the usual things.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Usual stuff. Are you on other platforms as well? Are you on Tumblr and Insta and things like that?

 

TARA : Uh, I have Instagram. I don’t use it that much. Twitter is what I’m on most of the time. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Twitter’s your jam.

 

TARA : Yeah, Twitter is pretty much my life.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, you said you had heard about  _ Wynonna Earp _ , heard a lot about it. Was that just through your friends on Twitter?

 

TARA : Yeah, basically. I had a different fan account back then, and um I was scrolling through and there’s things of like WayHaught and different stuff. And then one of my friends, when I asked what tv shows I should start watching, said “watch  _ Wynonna Earp _ . It’s so good.” I was like “I don’t know, is it really?” And then I watched it and was like “yeah, it’s pretty good.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, it’s not bad for a shit show. Right?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Yeah, it’s pretty good.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Oh. It…[laughter] sorry, I get distracted when we talk about shit shows. Um.

 

TARA : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I, since you’re so savvy with the social media, I, what was the inspiration for this social media AU?

 

TARA : Well, I was reading a different social media AU for a different fandom, and I was like I wonder if they have any WayHaught ones because that would be so cool. And I went and looked and they didn’t.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : So, I thought, “well, this is great”. So then a story just kinda popped up in my head and I was like “sure”. So I started jotting down little notes and things that I wanted to do and then I was like “I wonder if anyone would read this. Probably not, but we’re gonna do it anyway.” And now we’re here.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Now you’re here.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Now you’re doing it and it is huge!

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so, you really did launch the WayHaught social media AU trend then.

 

TARA : Um, well, I mean. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Not to brag or anything, but like, you saw this opportunity right?

 

TARA : Yeah, it was, I mean, ‘cause there’s some in like so many other fandoms, that I was like “well, I feel like WayHaught needs one, ya know.  _ Wynonna Earp _ needs one. It deserves to have a social media AU.”

 

DARKWICCAN : And clearly you were right...

 

DELAYNE : Uh, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...because it’s incredibly popular.

 

TARA : Yeah, now they’re everywhere. I have so many to read I can’t keep up.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you started posting this story on Twitter back in August of last year. Uh.

 

TARA : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, we’ve been going for nine months at this point. Um, when you sat down, as you said, starting sketching out notes, and figuring out your starting point and what you wanted to do, how much of this story did you plot out in advance before you started posting your first tweets on the thread.

 

TARA : Um, before I started posting the like first ones, I had a very, like, basic plot. Just super basic things that I wanted to have happen. Then, as I kept on going, I kept on planning more and more in depth. And, I mean, now, I’ve almost done it, so I have, I know what I want and everything that’s gonna happen, so I mean, like there were certain things, like how WayHaught got together and like certain breakups between different characters that I wanted to have happen and stuff. So, yeah, I had all of that planned out.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, man. You have got a lot of relationships happening and then unhappening and then happening again.

 

TARA : There’s so much.

 

DARKWICCAN : And there’s a lot of, yeah, uh, it’s very, it reminded me a lot of kind of, um, Alice Pieszecki’s...

 

DELAYNE : I was just about to say the chart. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : The chart, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Everyone’s attached to everyone.

 

DARKWICCAN : Do you know what we’re talking about, Tara?

 

TARA : I don’t.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s alright. It’s ok. You’ll probably get reintroduced to this if you end up watching the new revival of _The_ _L Word_ that comes out, but basically there’s a character on _The L Word_ called Alice Pieszecki and she developed this chart that is essentially six degrees of separation of all the lesbians in the L A community and how they all connect to each other. Everybody slept with everybody at some point. Everyone has dated on _The L Word_. 

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Yes, I’ve heard of this. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. So, that’s really kind of, seeing it happen in real time, more or less, in your story thread...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Pretty much.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...is uh, really, I don’t know how you keep track of it. Do you have like a murder board that you just...

 

TARA : I have, my notes are just filled with like either AU updates or just thing, like different this person is with this person right now, like...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

TARA : ...they haven’t been with this person yet so keep that in mind.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Just so many notes.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, besides your notes, you have done a few polls.

 

TARA : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : So, um, I, so, it sounds like, uh, other people can influence where this story is going, um, and I’m actually wondering, besides the polls, how often did you get DMs of people like “hey, well what about this” and how has that influenced how your story went?

 

TARA : At the start, I got so many different things, like just completely um, changed certain parts of the story. I still kept the basic plot obviously, but a lot of different directions that I wanted to happen like in the story have changed because of what people wanted and I thought that they were such good ideas. Through DMs, but also when people quote the tweets, or when they reply. One of the, one of the things one time, someone said “I wanna see Wynonna and Rosita get together” and I wasn’t even planning on doing that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh my god.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That was like...

 

TARA : I was like “why, why not?” I was like “I thought it would be cool for the show, why not put it in this, see what happens.” [laughter] It was like the best thing I’ve ever done.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

TARA : I was like “great”. So, I wasn’t even gonna put them together, and that person, I don’t even think knew about it. ‘Cause I try to like and retweet as much as I can, sometimes I don’t get to see everything, or I like see it and then it disappears, which is really weird, like in my notifications. So, like I saw that tweet and I don’t know if I ever liked it or not.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : So that person might not know they like affected the AU completely, ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Well, hopefully they’re still reading it and maybe they noticed. [laughter] Pat themselves on the back. Woohoo.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

TARA : They might have ditched a long time ago, it’s been so long, I don’t even know.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, man, you’ve got over a thousand tweets in this story thread.

 

TARA : There are so many, I kind of regret not putting the numbers. Like if you look at a lot of people who do it now, they like put numbers. I’m like “that is so smart, why didn’t I think of that?”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : That’s a good idea. I always wanna tweet up like “who wants to go and count all the tweets. ‘Cause I don’t wanna do it, but I wanna know how many are in there.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, definitely over a thousand. I do know that. I don’t know the exact number, but it’s definitely over a thousand, which is truly remarkable. It’s absolutely remarkable. And so many of those tweets are graphics that you’ve created of group chat activity, of ya know, their personal and stan account Twitters and littleTwitter, tweet messages to each other, and um, text messages. Ya know, graphics that you have to create. Now, I do know that there are engines online that you can go to, like fake iPhone or whatever, that you can create a fake group text or fake iMessage, or whatever, so I know that those things exist to sort of shorthand things, but I mean, the tweets you had to come up with all, you had to pick, you had to go through the cast social media accounts, pick out your favorite, most casual, youngest looking pho, ya know, selfies to kinda grab and go “ok, that’ll be good for that account, that’ll be good for that…” So, that is a lot of work that goes into this, so on average, what do you estimate it takes to create a group chat or a Twitter back and forth, like those graphics. How long is it taking you to do that for each of these updates?

 

TARA : Um, it was more a lot of work like at the very start because I just used an app like you said, so I have all of the accounts set up already and all I need to do is type in what I want, so that is fairly easy. But, at the beginning, I think I spent a good three hours just making the accounts without looking for the photos and everything. Like, looking for, setting up all the accounts and everything. It was really fun though. Like, I enjoyed it so much. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

TARA : Probably a little too much.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

TARA : Um, but, like, yeah so I spent a good like three hours trying to make um, the accounts and everything. Like, the day before I started posting like updates, I tweeted out, “should I start making this thing, or whatever?” And as soon as I tweeted that, I went and found like an app and started making them then, so like I made them the day before I even started posting things because I was so excited.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Like, for awhile. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You had a fire under you, at that point. Ready to go.

 

DELAYNE : 

 

TARA : Whether people say that I’m never gonna read this or not, I’m starting to post it because I already made these accounts. What am I gonna do with them? I’ve gotta use them now.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Hey, uh, so uh, [laughter]...

 

TARA : [high pitched voice] Hey.

 

DELAYNE : ...the setting in high school, was that set to uh, ya know, to suit the technology ‘cause that’s what schools are using and that’s what you’re using to tell it, or is it, ya know, you’re putting the characters closer to your own age, or…?

 

TARA : It was a bit of both of that, actually. Um, I feel like it’s easier for me to write for people that are my own age, opposed to people that are almost thirty or something, when I’m only eighteen.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Reasonable.

 

TARA : It’s possible, just it’s easier, and also the technology they’re using I feel like it’s more likely that they would, ya know, post a bunch of things on Twitter about random things, or whatever, and then have group chats and everything. Which, I mean, people do when they’re not teenagers or whatever, but it just makes more sense for me and then also, teenagers are more dramatic.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : [unintelligible] ...angst and everything if it’s teenagers ‘cause they make a big deal out of everything. Just, so much more believable for someone to be mad about something stupid than a mature person. It’s weird, so it’s much better if they’re teenagers.

 

DELAYNE : We’re not gonna disagree with you there.

 

DARKWICCAN : No, definitely not. In fact, I’m gonna save that quote, I’m gonna save that soundbite and when I have a teenager of my own, I’m just gonna play it back and go “from a teenager, to a teenager.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s very self aware of you.

 

DELAYNE : I am so glad, I’m so glad I did not have the social media when I was in high school or even in college.

 

TARA : It’s so horrible. It’s awful, I don’t even like interact with people besides like my Twitter friends. Anyone I know in real life, I’m like “let’s go onto my fan account and not worry about any of that” ‘cause we’re just so dramatic, it’s stupid.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : I’m gonna, thanks for that idea, I’m gonna write about that.

 

DELAYNE : I was just about to ask, have they inspired you, perhaps?

 

TARA : Oh, yeah, definitely..

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Uh, so, so, because this is a very youthful group, version of the  _ Wynonna Earp _ characters, they all speak in a very youthful way, uh, and I have learned so much new slang in reading your, uh, your story thread.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I have to ask, is the slang and your speech style of the characters, similar to the way you and your Twitter friends communicate?

 

TARA : It’s kind of similar, but it’s honestly more similar to like me and my friends in real life communicate. Like, my friends here, like Wynonna and Nicole’s relationship that I have is basically me and my best friend, we just hate on each other, bully each other and then we’re like...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : …”I love you”. We’re just like, like it’s basically straight up from how our relationship is, but it’s also how I interact with some of my friends, too, yeah. So.

 

DARKWICCAN : So you guys bet and challenge each other a lot?

 

TARA : I probably said “bet” an unhealthy amount of times.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Like, it’s not even funny. The amount of times I say “bet” in a day is, I would be broke if they took all of the “bets” that I say.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Like “want a chip?” “Bet”. Thanks. My answer to everything is just “bet”. It’s really bad. My friends get really annoyed with me.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I feel like I’m learning so much.

 

TARA : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And I’m assuming that the whole challenge thing comes from like the YouTube challenges and just sort of taking that and framing it around anything that’s going on in the moment, like the “Jeremy eats rice” challenge.

 

TARA : Yeah, pretty much.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. Yes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter}

 

DARKWICCAN : I just deciphered it correctly. I’m not too far over the hill, Delayne.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : [laughter] Whatever, ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you are getting very close to wrapping up this story, um, you posted probably about six weeks ago that we are kind of in the home stretch at this point, the kids are getting ready to graduate high school and go off in their various directions. Um, how close are we? ‘Cause today you posted the um, Wynonna goes on a blind date with Charlie thing, so.

 

TARA : Yeah, um.

 

DELAYNE : I’m not caught up on the last bit that just posted today. [laughter]

 

TARA : Um, so, you’re gonna see them graduate and then probably throughout the summer, and then it’s gonna have a lot of time jumps and you’ll see a lot more. I’ll probably be done by the end of February, for sure, we’ll probably be done. It depends how fast I can make up dates, really, and how much I post in a day. ‘Cause sometimes I have dates ready, but I’m like “I’m just gonna wait a bit, see how they react to this first.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Maybe put a poll in there to see. “What do you guys want? Too bad, here.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, your polls are very interesting.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Oh my gosh, DW. Yeah. You were actually talking about this in the first segment.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, your polls are very interesting in that they give no real direction. They’re very random.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : They’ll be like “one or two” or “yes and no” or “B and N” or some kind of random thing. Do they have any meaning, uh, ya know, ‘cause I can tell you, if you’re gonna be done by the end of February, this’ll post after you’ve concluded, so.

 

TARA : It’s, sometimes I post like letters, and if I post not just like A B C, they probably stand for something…

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

TARA : ...just a hint, they probably do. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter

 

TARA : They, the numbers usually I have like two updates maybe or something, and I’m just like “I don’t know which way I want this to go, here, you guys choose. I’m not gonna tell you what it is, just have fun and guess.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

TARA : Or uh, ya know, sometimes I just can’t decide how to write something, so I’ll be like “put a poll up for thirty minutes. One or two? You guys pick.” And then I’ll start writing. It really just depends.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice.

 

TARA : But they all do really mean something, and they do influence the story.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, ok, ‘cause I was joking with Delayne. Like, “ya know what, I bet these polls don’t mean anything, I bet she’s just screwing with people.” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : I think there was one time that I was just like, it was in the middle of a WayHaught break up or something and I was just like “I’m just gonna throw this in there to make them think something bad”, but for the most part, they do mean something, but there was that one time where I was like “I just wanna see people, I just wanna see what they would do.”

 

DELAYNE : You just wanna see everyone flail.

 

TARA : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Have you ever got a finalized poll and you went “aww man, that’s actually not what I wanted to do” and then did the opposite of the outcome?

 

TARA : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know what, that’s ok. That’s ok. ‘Cause how often do you, I mean, we all use these types of tools and tricks for ourselves to trick ourselves into making a decision, right? If I can’t make a decision, I’ve got it down to two options, I’ll flip a coin, and if the coin lands on the, ya know, on heads and the heads is aligned with the option that I really didn’t want, well then I know that I really wanted the other thing. So, ya know.

 

TARA : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s essentially a protracted coin flip.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : There was one time where I like posted “should Shae stay in the AU?” And everyone was like “no.” And I’m like too bad, she’s staying. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] You chose unwisely.

 

TARA : And it...you chose wrong. We’re going with this one anyway.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : There’s been a few yeah, where I’m like, where like, ‘cause sometimes I post what they actually are, and if it’s not, if it’s something they really want, like if it’s a big majority, then I’ll be like “ok, whatever”, and I’ll put it, but if it’s something you guys, it they don’t know, and I’m like “oh. And I mean, it would be kind of fun to write about that, but they’ll actually kill me, maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll be nice for a minute.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Tara, it has been fantastic having you on the show today, uh, a bit of youthful vigor to kind of boost us along as we’re in the doldrums of early February as we record this. Uh, your social media AU is truly impressive, both in the fact that yours is the one that set off the trend within the WayHaught fandom and the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom on Twitter, also because of its length, it is incredible the amount of work that you’ve put into this and continue to put into this. And it is delightfully, [laughter] traumatic and angsty but in that way...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that teenagers, teenagers can either be adorable or annoying and I think you land on adorable more often than you land on annoying, and yeah, this was um, this was a lot of fun to chat with you and go through this really tremendous effort that you have put in. So, so, thank you for all your hard work and for coming on to chat with us today.

 

TARA : Thank you for having me, this was actually so much fun. Thank you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : This has been great.

 

DARKWICCAN : Good, we’ve accomplished our goal. Yay! But before we let you go.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : To torment more fans, we must ask one final question.

 

DELAYNE : We have our own way of tormenting the people we talk to.

 

TARA : Alright.

 

DELAYNE : Alright, so, you are stranded on a desert island and can have only one fanfic to read, what is it?

 

TARA : Oh, um, well, I mean, I feel like I have to, I have this friend who writes, who has a fanfic, she only has like four chapters on it or something, but it’s so good, and I don’t know what I would do if I never go to read it again, honestly. I’ve just been going back and reading the same four chapters, waiting for her to update again, so I’d probably, I’d probably pick that one. Just, it’s just great.

 

DARKWICCAN : What’s, what’s the title?

 

TARA : I don’t believe that it has a title.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, is it a social media AU on Twitter?

 

TARA : No, it is not.

 

DELAYNE : We like to provide links, so if you can find that.

 

TARA : I will send you the link, if I can find it again. It’s in my bookmarked tweets because, like I said, I read it whenever I get the chance.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so this is untitled fanfiction by Stilly.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : By @ earperfreak on Twitter. There we go.

 

DARKWICCAN : By @earperfreak. Ok. So, yeah, once you, once we wrap up here and you have a second, send me that link and I’ll be happy to post that in our show notes for this episode. This is our first time doing an untitled fic, as a recommendation.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : Pretty sure it’s not untitled, but I just kind of read the AU fic, actual part, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Got it.

 

TARA : Who needs titles? I’m just kidding.

 

DARKWICCAN : There’s a bit of mystery around it then.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

TARA : For sure. You gotta have that bit of mystery ya know. Makes them wanna be like “well, what is it? I have to find it now.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] “What is this mystery?”

 

TARA : “Maybe I can find the title before she does.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I just tried to look and I was not successful in the time left that we have.

 

TARA : See?

 

DARKWICCAN : So, yeah, send us that link and I will happily provide that in the show notes for the episode and I’m gonna let you go so you can find it, and send it my way.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And again, Tara, thank you so much for coming on to chat with us today, this has been a blast.

 

TARA : Thank you, so much.

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.

 

Tremendous thanks to Tara for chatting with us about their twitter social media au! Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro and the Earp Expo spot.

  
  


Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, Zydeco Boogaloo by Loco Zydeco, Journey of the Prairie King by Erik Barone, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	20. We Built This "Shipy" On Rock and Roll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week DW and Delayne rock out to one of their favorite 'playlist' fics!! Then they chat with author iwaseliteonce about the music behind the storytelling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/we-built-this-shipy-on-rock-and-roll)

 

Read the Fic! (And jam to the tunes!)

'[Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13623255)' by iwaseliteonce

 

Episode artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](https://twitter.com/zeegersc)

 

 

Elite's Desert Island Record is: [The Who's Tommy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.](https://open.spotify.com/user/lanceleish/playlist/7oqAaCeYZhAIl0dIdwxcqZ?si=Q9NOZ0k7ToOCOZfpGpdNnA)

 

Episode transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [ApproxTenCats](http://efapodcast.com/Twitter.com/approxtencats) 

 

EFA Episode 220 - We Built This Shipy on Rock n Roll

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everyone to another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me with her earbuds in as I wave frenetically at her, trying to get her attention, is my fantastic co-host...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Hi it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s about time.  Trying to get your attention for about fifteen minutes here.

 

DELAYNE : Sorry, man, you know, when the music moves you, you just, you gotta be in it. 

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I completely understand.  I am also a child of “the music” so I get it, I get it.  But I can only guess you were listening to one of several playlists. 

 

DELAYNE : Several playlists.  Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But I’m not going to tell you which one.  You know what how about you tell me which playlist you think it is and I will not tell you which one I’m actually listening to. 

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]  

 

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

DELAYNE : Yes.  While you have your headphones in and listening to us let’s get back to the music.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, now that that awkward mess is over, thank god, or goddess, or flying spaghetti monster or you know, cosmic muffin or whatever you believe.

 

DELAYNE : Cosmic muffin, that’s a new one on me.  Ah anyway let’s not get derailed again. Back to the music.

 

DARKWICCAN : You know what?  Cosmic muffin would be a great band name.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]  Yes, cosmic muffin is my Jefferson Starship cover band.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright, music, let’s talk about it.  It’s got notes. They frequently harmonize with each other.  And when the notes go in the right order they affect you and you have a feeling.

 

DELAYNE : Lot’s of feelings.

 

DARKWICCAN : Today we’re talking about stories that have lots of feelings that revolve around notes that go up and down and frequently harmonize with each other.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s been a very long day.  It’s been a very long day. Ok. Playlist fics.  Talking about playlist fics.

 

DELAYNE : Playlist fics.

 

DARKWICCAN : Fics that have playlists attached to them, because the authors were inspired by the music and took that inspiration and wrote a story that revolved, or involved or was heavily influenced by “the music”.  And we’re going to focus on one fic in particular today but we can’t start talking about that one until we provide the absolutely necessary shout-outs to other very well known and excellent songfics, can’t see but I’m making air quotes, songfics or as I like to call playlist fics.  [inaudible] of them all, the Big Kahuna, the incredibly influential Eighties Mixtape AU, also known as  _ It’s Like I Wrote Every Note With My Own Fingers _ by GilliganKane AKA PirateKane and TheGaySmurf.  Absolutely have to shout that one out, it is, when we chatted with both Smurf and Pirate both this season and last season we touched briefly on the fact that this is technically a songfic series but it doesn’t feel like a songfic series, so, because instead of...

 

DELAYNE : Hence the “songfic” in air quotes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely, so we have to tip our hats to that immense series of stories.  Also have to give a big old wave to Bootsncatz for her story  _ Wishin’ and Hopin’ _ , that also has a playlist on Spotify and it is fantastic.  It is totally classic retro 1950s and 60s. I love listening to the playlist whether I’m reading the story or not, it’s just a feel good bunch of songs man, it just takes me back to a time I did not live in, but that my mom lived in so you know [laughter] 

 

DELAYNE : You have a connection to it.  You understand it enough to appreciate it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.  And another fic I want to give a shout-out to before we dive into our main one today is  _ My Love Heaven’s Not Too Far to Touch _ by Maidenstar, this is a story that has multiple playlists on Spotify that go along with it because this is a  _ San Junipero _ AU and much like in the television episode from Black Mirror the characters jump through different times within about a twenty year swing or so, and so each of the years that they visit, well not each but most of the years that they visit Maidenstar actually created unique playlists for those individual chapters so I definitely have to shout-out to that.  The thing that all of these stories have in common is that while they do have accompanying playlists and they do reference the music either by title or by dropping a few lyrics here and there they don’t heavily rely on the music to tell the story, it’s more of a place setting thing. Now in the case of 80s Mixtape AU that it is genuinely more both a combination of place setting or time setting but also emotion.  So the fic that we’re talking about and putting our focus on today is the fic  _ Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands _ by iwaseliteonce and this is a very unique story in that not only does it have a playlist but is also truly a songfic in that it does use entire chunks of lyrics to tell the story but unlike most songfics that do that it’s not annoying.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You’re just gonna lay it all out there.  Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean...

 

DELAYNE : No diss to songfics but it sometimes comes across as a little annoying.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I’ve talked about this before.  I’ve confessed this before. This isn’t news. I mean, it’s news if somebodies tuning in for the first time but it’s not news.  I am not a fan of songfics as they are traditionally known which is basically you open...

 

DELAYNE : There’s a whole hunk of lyrics and a little tiny bit of exposition.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, exactly, there’s like two sentences of expository prose and then somebody just cut and pastes the lyrics off goodlyrics.dot.com just [cut and paste sound effect]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : And then there’s like a chunk of little expository prose at the end and that “there you go, hey you wrote a fic.”  No you didn’t, you just quoted some lyrics at me, you didn’t write a fic.

 

DELAYNE : But that’s definitely not what we’re talking about today.  This, uh, I can’t even describe how it is done but I love how it is done.  Does that make any sense?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I totally get what you’re saying.  This is a story where especially if you listen along to the playlist while you’re reading the story, this is a story where the music is the story and the story is the music.  Our main point of view is Nicole, in fact our only point of view is Nicole, it is also a first person piece which I’m typically very wary around first person pieces as well, that’s a real touchy… I mean this fic is really ticking all the boxes where normally I’d go, “uhh, thanks but no thanks.  I mean I’ll read it because I gotta read it but uhh…”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Same.

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean first person stuff is really difficult to write, I think I’ve written one or two.

 

DELAYNE : I say we’ve talked about it before, we had a whole episode.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, we did.  And it’s so, so difficult to do well.  Because you are just, whether you want to or not you’re putting so much of yourself into the character that it’s possible to lose the core of the character and just be writing an autobiography essentially.  Where you’ve changed the names to protect the innocent or whatever so it’s a fine, fine line. But this, this story is so engaging and it just feels like the soundtrack is around you at all times and Nicole the character, this version of Nicole is entirely driven by music.  She is a musician, and she owns a record store. The character reminds me a lot of John Cusack’s character from  _ High Fidelity _ which is one of my all time favorite John Cusack movies.  And this Nicole is very dramatic, I honestly think she’s the most dramatic Nicole we’ve had since teenage Nicole in the 80s Mixtape AU.  I mean honestly. I mean maybe on par with...

 

DELAYNE : Maybe possessed Nicole in canon?

 

DARKWICCAN : But that’s not Nicole.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Possessed by a teenager Nicole.

 

DARKWICCAN : But that’s not Nicole though.

 

DELAYNE : No, that’s not Nicole.  That’s just a funny image in my head.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s hilarious and I will always be grateful to Ms Kat Barrell for being willing to rip open her shirt and share with us what the wardrobe department dressed her in that day.  But that’s not Nicole. To get back to my point, this Nicole is very much in her feelings and she experiences her feelings through the music that she loves and this very much starts off an unrequited love story.  Nicole lays it all out there right away.

 

DELAYNE : This Nicole and her language as well, like, within the first couple of lines “absolute bullshit”, I mean, just that line.

 

DARKWICCAN : The writing isn’t absolute bullshit, that’s the line.  Let me just clarify. I just felt it was necessary.

 

DELAYNE : I just realised how that could come across, yes... One, two, it’s the third line, um but at this point you’ve got to keep in mind if you haven’t realised, at this point we are in Nicole’s head.

 

DARKWICCAN : The first line of the story is, “Welcome to Chicago, the capital of middle class fucking America” like that’s our introduction to this Nicole.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, and by the third line she’s talking about what bullshit happy places are.  The mindless masses. She’s just a very angry, record store, antisocial...

 

DARKWICCAN : She reminds me of this, like, combination of Bernard Black from Black Books if you’re familiar with that BBC show and [inaudible] mentioned before.  A very much borderline nihilist. A borderline nihilist and curmudgeon and just...

 

DELAYNE : I definitely got  _ High Fidelity _ vibes when I was reading this especially at the beginning like, bam, I felt that too.  And then there’s a little bit once we start getting into the other characters, got a little bit of  _ Empire Records _ in there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, definitely, definitely.

 

DELAYNE : Those are pretty much the two record store movies that I know of anyway.

 

DARKWICCAN : But yeah this Nicole is definitely… where the Nicole on the show I think you can read more as a realist who trends toward optimism, this Nicole is a surrealist who tends towards pessimism and uh...

 

DELAYNE : Accurate, very accurate.

 

DARKWICCAN : She also is a smoker, although she tries not to smoke too much because Waverly hates it when she does.  And she is tattooed. And she drinks. And she hates selling records to stupid people so really it’s a miracle that her store is even open still.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, yes, Nicole definitely mentions how difficult it is to run a record store, especially with the way music is these days and how it’s accessible and she definitely is not helping.  Because that first, well, the first time that we see Nicole sell to a customer it does not go very well.... sorry.

 

DARKWICCAN : Why did you run out of steam?  You were so… you were going to a good place there.

 

DELAYNE : I don’t know where I’m going, I probably should take my headphones out, maybe that would help.

 

DARKWICCAN : You can’t hear me?  What?

 

DELAYNE : No because I’m listening to music right?

 

DARKWICCAN : [in a high strained voice] Well, stop it.  We’re discussing fic right now. Jeez, what am I going to do with you?  So anyway, this Nicole is hopelessly in love with Waverly and has been for twelve years, TWELVE YEARS, but she’s never had the courage to tell Waverly how she feels so when we meet this Nicole she is basically more than a decade in to this self-imposed hurt fest on her heart and I mean, what does that make for?  It makes for great, great emotional music. Now I won’t say that Nicole is emo for the first four chapters. [laughter] But here’s the funny thing, so like emo is supposed to be shorthand for emotional youth or whatever right? 

 

DELAYNE : I assume so, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Okay, so if...

 

DELAYNE : All I know is that they wear dark clothes and listen to depressing music.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and I wouldn’t… well, I mean that kind of describes Nicole here.  But she’s not listening to sort of the synth pop dark stuff. She’s listening to, you know, independent artists and...

 

DELAYNE : Definitely hates the sellouts.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hates the sellouts, absolutely.  So she likes to listen to Joy Division and Elliot Smith and, well maybe not Echo and the Bunnymen but you know, The Smiths, big fan of The Smiths, definitely.  So that’s the kind of music that this Nicole is a fan of. So I know that she doesn’t like to think of herself as emo, but I just gotta say, given how dramatic she is… she’s emo.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You’re listing a bunch of artists and uh, half of them I’m going to have to google a lot of stuff.  I might have been in band in high school but my brother is the musician, he’s the one who loves the music. Like I said, I understand maybe half the references.  I did like the Led Zeppelin one at the beginning, that was funny.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and who doesn’t love a good  _ Immigrant Song _ joke, right?

 

DELAYNE : That was hilarious.

 

DARKWICCAN : Note to self...

 

DELAYNE : But yeah half the artists I’m like, I know maybe half of them so yay?

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, the cool thing is iwaseliteonce has provided a comprehensive Spotify playlist to go along with this story so if you don’t know a song, you can listen to the song and then you will know the song.

 

DELAYNE : That’s brilliant. [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : What I found interesting is that I like to think of myself as a fan of independent music and alternative rock and punk and things like that, and I discovered that yes that’s true for certain bands with certain sounds but there are some tracks on this that I’m like, “okay, so Nicole likes this one, I don’t get it, but okay.”  That’s a really cool thing about this, this story is not only telling a story but it’s also introducing you to artists that you may not have known about like The Damnwells, I was not familiar with The Damnwells. Which I think is stupid because they’ve been around a long time. But I wasn’t familiar with them, but now I am because this story.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, that’s actually a very good point.  Even talking about the other fics we were mentioning with the other playlists, older songs that there might be a lot of younger people who are reading fanfic nowadays might not have known so this is a great way to introduce musical artists to people.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, totally.  And I think we’ve kind of gotten stuck on the music here for a while.  I sort of want to talk a little bit more about the storytelling. The storytelling does rely heavily on the music but it’s very evocative, even if you’re not listening to the music, even if you’re just reading the snatches of lyrics that are included here and there, even if you skip over them, I don’t recommend it, the lyrics are important, normally, and that’s the thing, that’s the opposite of what I would typically say when it comes to songfics, when it comes to songfics it’s like, “god, okay, read the opening exposition, skip to the end, read the closing exposition, okay I got it.”  But in this case the lyrics are very important because the lyrics are important to Nicole. She experiences life through these songs and through the lyrics, you can tell that if musicianship isn’t top of the list, the words are definitely there. So do take the time to read the lyrics as you’re reading through this story, but it’s incredibly evocative feel this pain that again, she’s putting herself through, she’s such a useless gay. But I think this is something that I think we can all relate to and we can all kind of get on the same page with this Nicole like, “girl, I know I feel you, would you just be honest for fucks sake.”

 

DELAYNE : Well the way it’s written it feels very “in real time” because Nicole in her head will stop and be like, “wait, I need to listen… this lyric is coming up and it’s important to me and I want to listen to it so my brain’s going to stop explaining to the ether.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Right.  And I love the fact that, I don’t know if you’ve done this, I’ve done this in the car, particularly if I’m by myself and I’m not listening to music or maybe I’ve got music down low and I’m just running through something in my head and I will just start to monologue.  And sometimes it’s not enough to just be an internal monologue, sometimes you do actually have to speak the words out into the air and I love the fact that at one point Nicole is alone in her record store and she’s just getting more and more frustrated [inaudible] and record stores today.  And she just kind of goes, “I know I’ve got a monologue building up, I know I’ve got it building up, and here it is.” And she just monologues to the empty store because she has no one else to blah this out to and she just gets it out of her system and she’s like, “oh, that was good, I feel better now.”  Yeah, no I get it, I get it.

 

DELAYNE : I don’t usually leave my head very often but I’m definitely in my head a lot so I get that.

 

DARKWICCAN : And also because she’s not communicating verbally with her friends or with Waverly she talks herself into believing things that aren’t necessarily true like believing that Waverly’s not interested in her.

 

DELAYNE : Despite the fact that when Waverly shows up...

 

DARKWICCAN : I know right!

 

DELAYNE : … all the little things...

 

DARKWICCAN : Little things?!

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Just the way that they interact, like they’re already a couple.  They’re holding hands. She has to go get her scarf and gloves because they’re Waverly’s, everything of Nicole’s is Waverly’s, she’s very clear about this.  And it’s like, I don’t know, it’s easier to be blind when you’re actively looking elsewhere? I don’t know.

 

DARKWICCAN : When you’re actively talking yourself out of what is right in front of you?  Yeah, yeah. Well listen, there’s a lot going on with this story and I would love to sit down with iwaseliteonce and chat it out.  Yes, I would like to chat with our dear author about this. I want to pick her brain about the story, I want to pick her brain about the playlist, I want to talk to her about music in general because clearly music is a big deal for her so let’s do that, and you can ask your questions too I guess Delayne if you want to.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I definitely have interacted on Twitter about music.

 

DARKWICCAN : Cool, alright, great.

 

DELAYNE : So looking forward to this.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it’s gonna be good, it’s gonna be good.  

 

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

  
  


MUSIC: Moby Dick by Led Zeppelin

  
  


DARKWICCAN : And welcome back everybody to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me listening to some deep cuts off her favorite Zeppelin album is my buddy...

 

DELAYNE : Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we’re super excited to have with us right now the author of the fantastic story we were chatting about before the break, the one with the spectacular playlist,  _ Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands _ .  The fantastic iwaseliteonce.  Welcome back to the show.

 

ELITE: Well thank you, nice to be here, nice to be back again.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I love chatting with you.

 

ELITE: Well that’s nice, it’s nice to be appreciated you know?

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, we do appreciate you very very much on this show, that’s for sure.

 

ELITE: Well, that’s nice.  I might come back then.

 

DARKWICCAN : We’ll see?  We’ll see how this goes? 

 

ELITE : It’s a test run at this point.

 

DELAYNE : Test run number two.  What is your standard sample size for your test runs?

 

ELITE : Um, you know, at least three dates.

 

DARKWICCAN : At least three, so we need to have you back on one more time is what you’re saying before you make up your mind about us?

 

ELITE : I would have to write something good enough to earn that, yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Okay, I believe in you.

 

DELAYNE : I believe in you too.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well thank you.

 

ELITE : This got really cute.

  
  


DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I just realised Delayne said “I believe in you too” and not Elite.  I thought you were just reciprocating. Sorry. Yes, but no I believe in you. Okay. Let’s talk.  Alright okay. 

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : Let’s get to the reason why we’re here which is to chat with you Elite about your wonderful music inspired work,  _ Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands _ .  It’s a very emotional work, it’s very much the music is incredibly integral to the story, I don’t think the story would exist without the music.  And it has just been, I mean you took a bit of a break between the most recent two chapters and that’s okay. Like I said on this show we never, ever pressure authors to write, writing is hard, life happens.  But I’m so glad to see you back at it after a bit of a hiatus and it’s just been a joy to read. It’s very emotional but it’s a lovely lovely story.

 

ELITE : Well, I’m glad to hear you like it.  That’s kind of the point. So.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : Right.  Good. We’re going to play this low key.  I can go low key. No problem. So, uh, Elite, tell me about your relationship with music.

 

ELITE : [in soft radio voice] Are we going soft radio voice?

 

DARKWICCAN : [also in soft radio voice] yes we are.  Coming up next on Thistle and Shamrock we’re going to be discussing the way music affects Elite’s life.

 

DELAYNE : [in background] Oh my gosh.  Wait, who’s the thistle and who’s the shamrock?

 

ELITE : Which one of us is taller?

 

DARKWICCAN : Well Delayne is taller than me, so.

 

DELAYNE : I still don’t remember that.  I don’t feel like that’s the case. Why is that?  Never mind.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because you’re barely taller than me Delayne, you’re like maybe half an inch taller than me.

 

DELAYNE : Ugh. Well, we went off the rails real quick.  Hey, Elite, how about that question?

 

DARKWICCAN : Anytime, anytime, take your time, this is a big question.

 

ELITE : So, my relationship with music has been lifelong, that’s the easiest answer.  I grew up with a dad that has so many records it’s embarrassing. I am in the same room as them.  There are twelve hundred records at this point. I have no idea how many CDs and tapes there are. They’re all in alphabetical order by the last name of the artist, and then chronological order by band and/or artist so basically anything that came out since about 1950 I’ve had access to.  It’s just, it’s the major constant, it’s the thing I’ve always had.

 

DARKWICCAN : So you essentially live in a music library.  

 

ELITE : I live in a music library yeah.  My dad’s best friend has a basement that is a radio station. He and my dad combined have twenty four, twenty five hundred records.  If you’ve ever heard it they have it. It’s incredible. The best example is, seriously this is the weirdest example I can think of, but when 9/11 happened I came home and picked out very specific albums and listened to them.   _ New York Minute _ by The Eagles.   _ Fragile _ by Sting.  I picked really specific albums and just came home and listened to the songs that I thought fit that and I’ve always done that.  I learned how to make mixtapes when I was, I don’t know, ten? I started making mix CDs when that was available, it’s just a thing I’ve always done.  It’s hard for me to work all the way through a record, I’m that person who skips around which drives a lot of people insane so a good record for me is one where I can’t skip a song because it feels dirty.  That’s a good record.

 

DARKWICCAN : So would you say that music for you is just as much of an emotion as anything else, or a way of expressing emotion?

 

ELITE : Yeah.  And it should be a music and a lyrical combo.  If you have a really great song lyrically but the sound sucks I don’t want to listen to it.  If you have a really great song that sounds amazing and the composition’s really well done but your lyrics don’t hit me in and under my rib cage I’m not going to be as prone to pick it up and think about.  I like the records that just absolutely haunt me across the board. I have a top five list of top songs sonically, and top songs lyrically, because I think they’re very different things. It’s just something I’ve always done, just kind of tracking what’s good on what scale and what’s good on both scales.

 

DARKWICCAN : And would these be pretty much entirely... when I say pop music I don’t mean that in a bad way, I just mean music that has been part of the popular culture, anywhere from… I guess when I say pop music I mean music that is not musical theater.

 

ELITE : Um, yeah, I mean it’s back to the 1950s crooners, I think some of the best stuff is Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, The Ink Spots.  You’ve got to be able to appreciate that kind of stuff to appreciate what exists now. There’s no Lena Horne making your soul hurt, there’s no Julien Baker that makes you wanna cry.  Those two things require each other.

 

DELAYNE : Wow, I am so blown away, and also it’s funny because the records that I do have are all musical theater.

 

ELITE : I don’t have a problem with musical theater.  I can’t dance so I’ve never had anything really to do with musical theater.  I got kicked out of the theater organization I was in because I couldn’t dance.

 

DARKWICCAN : They were doing it wrong then.

 

ELITE : Nobody wanted me in the company when I was a little kid, I wanted to be a lost boy so bad but I couldn’t do the dance.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : So that was the one production of Peter Pan that you…

 

ELITE : Yeah, I got to be in a production, I don’t know like two years ago I guess, of  _ American Idiot _ locally because I didn’t have to dance.  It was fun. I just got to sing and be a dork and play drums and stuff like that.  

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, the reason why I ask between pop music and musical theater is because in musical theater it’s… the lyrics are incredibly, incredibly important because they’re part of a linear storyline so they have to move the plot forward.  Whereas in music that you listen to on the radio, regardless of genre, not to say that the lyrics don’t matter, but it seems like there’s more of an emphasis in certain styles, not all, in certain styles there’s more of an emphasis on the sound and less on the meaning.  I think that we’re getting back to music that is just as lyrically important as it is sonically important. But for a time it just seemed like there was a sound that people were trying to capture and the lyrics were just like, “we’re just going to say the same thing three thousand times in a row.”

 

ELITE : Yeah, pretty much.  Just to be, you said I could cuss, just to be an elitist asshole about it I don’t listen to the radio.  I have little phases where I listen to it because we have a really little local radio station that does some of the old school country and bluegrass that’s kind of fun.  I, for the most part, hate the radio. I want the Julien Bakers, and the Phoebe Bridgers and the Lucy Dacus kind of musicians. I want somebody that makes my soul hurt. I’m sure Katy Perry is great but I don’t feel like a plastic bag, I just don’t.  I’m sorry, I wish I did I guess? But I just don’t feel like a plastic bag.

 

DELAYNE : Okay, your name “elite” just works so well now that you have written this because… and you portray Nicole very well as a musical elitist as well, and definitely there is a  _ High Fidelity _ vibe going on, we talked about it in the first segment.  So this story reminds me of that and also  _ Empire Records _ .  So I was curious if those movies were an inspiration at all for you to write this story.

 

ELITE : I’m going to preface part of this by saying please don’t hate me for this, I was a really sheltered child when it came to movies and TV.  I have never seen  _ Empire Records _ , I didn’t know it existed until about five years ago.   _ High Fidelity _ is my favorite movie of all time.  I love  _ High Fidelity _ .  That’s the best thing Jack Black has ever done.  Everybody in the cast is great. It’s like the lone time that I’ve liked Lisa Bonet.  John Cusack is wet because that’s part of his contract and he has to be wet in every movie he’s ever been in.  It’s a masterpiece, the book is just as good, the book is a blast. But yeah, it’s a masterpiece of a film. Even though he’s an absolute asshole, the whole time.  But is it an inspiration? One hundred percent. Yeah. 

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome.

 

ELITE : I love puppy Nicole.  Puppy Nicole’s fun. But I haven’t seen a ton of people, probably with the exception of probably like Half, that will let Nicole be just almost intolerable.  And I sort of wanted that, not first person perspective, but that kind of talking to the camera like what happens in  _ High Fidelity _ .  I wanted to see somebody do that and it just kept not happening and I got so pissed off about it I wondered if I could do it.  And I wrote the intro, wrote like the first, what did it end up being? Wrote like the first three or four pages and thought, “well I guess I’ve done this now, yeah, I should probably finish this.”  Absolutely, I wanted that Nicole to happen, and I wondered who the different, one of the guy’s name is Dick if you’ve never seen  _ High Fidelity _ , who the equivalent of Dick is and it’s one hundred percent Jeremy, he’s just the softest sweet baby angel on the planet.  And he has that really passive tone, he’s softly opinionated but he won’t make you feel bad about it. And that’s a good Jeremy for me.  And you know Rosita’s not much of a Jack Black character but she could get there.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah I could see that, for sure.

 

ELITE : She’s just a little more about, you know, hitting on everybody who walks through the door as opposed to asking if their family members are in a coma because they like a band.  “Oh, I’m sorry, is she in a coma?” Yeah, I watched the movie a couple of days ago just so I could reference it a couple of times.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice, excellent.

 

DELAYNE : I need to re-watch that actually.

 

DARKWICCAN : So I just want to make one quick clarification Elite because you said not a lot of people do this except Half, and I want to just make clear that by Half you mean the author Half, and not half of the people.

 

ELITE : Yeah, no no no, sorry, that didn’t make sense.  Yeah the author Half. The author Half’s really good at I’m-kind-of-a-dick Nicole.  And also I’m-kind-of-a-dick Waverly which makes me very happy. But Half was probably the best example of someone who was willing to let their characters be almost on the line of intolerable jerks and you still love the hell out of them because they’re just so adorable.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : So talking about intolerable jerks you’re a clearly a modern music aficionado, have you ever used your knowledge and taste to knock a, quote, basic listener down to size much like Nicole does with the Willa in your story.

 

ELITE : Yes.  That is where my AO3 username came from.  When I was in college I went to music school, I was on the snare line, and I had a very occasional job at a record store.  My life goal was to be the female version of Rob from  _ High Fidelity _ .  I trash talked every mediocre drummer I ever met.  If your band sucked I was going to make fun of them.  If you’re musical taste sucked I was going to rip you a new one about it.  I was just like that person in the record store where they’re like, “fuck, she’s working today, no!”  That was one hundred percent me, and this guy came in, this was like 2005, it was one of those, I’m going to offend a band that I like but I can’t think of the name of the band, it was a Yellow Cardy kind of punk but not really band.  I love Yellow Card by the way. It was one of those radio popular bands, Good Charlotte, it was Good Charlotte. Good Charlotte, I fucking hate Good Charlotte. And this dude wanted a Good Charlotte CD and I don’t know the name of it because I hate that band, and I gave him shit about it and told him that he should just go to the fucking mall to get that CD that he wanted because there was no way we were going to carry that bullshit in this store.  This is why Nicole curses so much. And we had this big fight back and forth and we’re in the middle of the store and he’s finally like, “why don’t we just go outside.” 

 

DELAYNE: [laughter]  What?

 

ELITE: I was in really good shape because I wore a drum all day every day but I would be like more scrappy than I would tough.  I was fast. I can’t throw a punch. I got creamed in the parking lot of my store, and the last thing this dude said was something along the lines of, “you were an elitist asshole one time, don’t be it ever fucking again or I’ll break you.”  So I was elite once.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : Okay, so that’s how you got your name.  Wow, that’s a story, that is quite a story.

 

DELAYNE : I don’t know what to do with this information.

 

ELITE : Honestly I deserved it, but Good Charlotte’s a really bad band so you know, just go to FYE, you know, order that shit on Amazon, go to Walmart, I don’t want it.  Target’s probably got it.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] 

 

DELAYNE : Target’s probably got it with a bonus track specific to Target.

 

ELITE : One hundred percent, special edition, with I don’t know, who would the guest vocalist be, Jonathan Davis from Korn?  I don’t know. Oh, that guy from Fall Out Boy whose name I don’t know. Pete.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] 

 

ELITE : There you go, that guy.  Pete from Fall Out Boy. Is a guest vocalist.  On the bonus track about buying a puppy and then kicking it off a bridge.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh jeez.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Um, I have no idea where I’m at right now.

 

ELITE : And this is why Nicole curses so much.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, Nicole, I wanna know, why the piano because I know you’re a drummer and I have seen  _ Empire Records _ , I was expecting the door to open to a drum set so I want to know why the piano? 

 

ELITE : Um, I think deep down in her sweet little black soul that Nicole is a little bit more emo than she’s willing to admit.

 

DARKWICCAN : [the evilest laughter the world has ever heard, filled with triumph and vindication]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That’s DWs evil laughter.

 

ELITE : Deep down she wants to be in Something Corporate really bad and she just wants to play  _ Konstantine _ and make some really cute girl love her.  And I figured everybody expected guitar, guitar was kind of a given.  Bass can’t really carry what I wanted to do, and the best emotional impact was just going to be like a headliner instrument that you would never expect somebody who likes Depeche Mode and Joy Division and The Cure to play.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhm, mhm.

 

DELAYNE : So you were going for the surprise.

 

ELITE : Yeah, it’s the surprise and it’s the emotional impact more so.  Because, no offence to cute girls who play guitar, please keep playing guitar, you’re really pretty, we love it when you play guitar, but it’s pretty hot when a really cute girl can sing and play the piano and make your soul hurt.  And you have a little tear and it’s a movie moment. Those were the girls I dated in college. Anyway, I kind of weighed that one for a little bit and I had this mental picture of Nicole playing _ Konstantine _ by Something Corporate on the piano and getting caught by Waverly and having this, “oh fuck, she’s going to know I’m emo” moment.  And it just made me laugh so hard, and it’s the perfect impact instrument. If the pianos playing in a minor key or if it’s a song that you don’t expect to be played on piano it hurts more.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.  This is true. But I have a question.  Okay so Nicole is quite the misanthrope in this story, and I’m just curious if other than of course Rob Gordon from  _ High Fidelity _ , is her nature based on anyone in particular.

 

ELITE : Um, sort of?  I mean, part of it is that mentality and that “I’m better than you” elitist mindset that I had in college and that sort of “if you don’t listen to what I listen to then fuck you.”  And I think those kind of people are interesting, I think more so than her really disliking everybody that ever lived on the planet it was that I wanted to make her just a little bit emo but not like I will acknowledge that I’m emo, like just under that bottom layer she’s just screwed up enough that it’s a little hard to comprehend.  So I think kind of what I ended up with later, especially where I am in the outline now, a lot of that nature is more so built on the fact that she’s just so certain [inaudible] is going to turn around and kick her in the ass. She’s just gonna implode or the universe is gonna explode or someone is gonna burn her store to the ground, or this relationship is going to go terribly because she says some sentence, and makes fun of Waverly’s favorite band without realising that everybody hates her forever.  I wanted that more than I wanted that hatred of everything. But I don’t think you can just put that on a silver platter, it was easier to just make her that standoffish “if you don’t agree with me you don’t exist” person, and sell it, and put that as an underlying layer instead of just “I’m really sad all the time, and everything’s terrible and everybody’s going to leave me.” I think I wanted the impact to be a little more like “god she’s an asshole” and then the more you get into it, you know when you get to that piano moment you’re like “oh, this person’s scarred, she’s just screwed up and she doesn’t know what to do about it” and now that, you know, life feels good, especially where we are now in the fic, we’ve had this great thing happen but there’s still that “I’m going to fuck this up, this is going to go horribly, I’m going to screw this up” and I really wanted that to happen, and I wanted that to matter, and I wanted you to slowly realise that the character was a lot different to what you thought when you first saw them.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, uh...

 

DELAYNE : Woah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I think absolutely that you’ve done that.  The thing that I think about Nicole, I mean you would think that as a reader you would be frustrated with her being such a dick but really my frustration lay in the fact that she was completely oblivious, she was so in her own damn head, that she was completely oblivious to how affectionate and loving Waverly was to her already in a very “we’re girlfriends, but for the sake of saying that we’re girlfriends and kissing each other” way.

 

ELITE : Yeah, and that’s what I want. I appreciate characters, and I have a friend like this, a guy that I’ve grown up knowing for a long time, when I first met him I was like, “this is the biggest asshole I have ever met in my entire life, I don’t know who hurt you, but I’m really sorry that your life’s been awful but people are trying to be nice to you.”  And I like introduced him to some of my other friends and that first introduction was one of the worst conversations that I’ve ever had with other human beings because he intentionally made fun of this person’s job in a way that made me uncomfortable. And everybody hates this dude until the third time they hang out with him where they’re like “he’s the nicest guy I’ve ever met, he’s so smart, we had such a great conversation, this is so awesome.  Where the fuck were you three days ago?” And I like those kind of people so I thought you were this, you’re actually this, but you don’t want me to get there until we have a relationship where you can trust me and get to know where you are. 

 

DELAYNE : You wrote that very very well, in Nicole.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nailed it.

 

DELAYNE : So I am not a musical aficionado, I guess I dabble, my brother probably is more one so there’s some musicians you mention like, “yay, I know these people,” like Diana Krall oh my gosh we could uh… yeah, let’s not go down that path.  But one thing I do not understand is the name of the record store, explain that please and who the heck named it if Nicole did not.

 

ELITE : Okay, the record store.  This was the most random reference that I could possibly make.  The record store in  _ High Fidelity _ has a really basic name and it’s always driven me insane, it’s Championship Vinyl I think, Championship Vinyl.  It’s always driven me insane because it’s just too simple, you’d think somebody like that would be such a dick about the name of their store that it would be something insane and ridiculous.  Complete Music / Music Complete is a reference to the English rock band, I’m gonna say rock, New Order. They had two albums, the first one was  _ Music Complete _ and then the remix album they did a year later was  _ Complete Music _ so I put them in reverse order.  I really did it just to make one of those references where people are like, “what?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well congrats again, you were successful.

 

ELITE : I wanted that first chapter for everything you saw or heard, for you to go, “what? I don’t know what that is.”  Like the title of the fic straight out of the gate, not many people are gonna know that Elliot Smith song, not many people are gonna know the first Joy Division song that you hear.  Ninety five, probably higher than that, are gonna have no idea that I made a New Order reference, they’re just not gonna get these things. And I think...

 

DELAYNE : You even said it was a New Order reference and I still didn’t understand.

 

ELITE : To sell that elitist mindset that I really, really wanted I wanted that first chapter to almost be over people’s head so they were like, “what is happening right now?  I don’t know what this person’s talking about.” I kinda wanted to sell the whole playlist concept, I don’t know if I’ve done that, but I wanted you to want to follow along and go, “I don’t understand what any of these song references are,” and then that song to start and go, “oh okay cool, I get it now.”  Um,  _ Pencil Skirt _ by Pulp was one of those references.  It’s really dirty, inappropriate, looking at a hot girl and realising that they’re hot kinda song.  And I put that at a time that I wouldn’t say that, but the character was thinking it and I just, I like to do things like that where the song means something really specific and if you know it you know that and if you listen to it you go, “okay, alright, I get it now.”  I wanted to start off almost too high, and be a little too elitist and a little too in your own world in a way because the film starts that way. It’s all, “I’m gonna walk you through everything that’s happened, we are a lot further ahead than we should be and I’ll go back and I’ll explain things, but this is where we’re gonna start and you have no idea what’s happening right now.”  And I wanted to do the same thing where you’re like, “cool, we’re in Chicago, what’s happening right now? This person’s listened to like five songs in fifteen seconds, I don’t understand anything that’s going on.”

 

DELAYNE : It was beautifully done so well, you are spot on with everything you are trying to accomplish, you have very successfully accomplished.

 

DARKWICCAN : You have orchestrated this story structure perfectly.

 

DELAYNE: [laughter and clapping]

 

ELITE : One day, thank you for that, I got you, I’m just ignoring your references because I’m a dick, but I just really, I overdo it on outlines, if anyone’s ever seen my outlines I am so sorry.  I’ll write entire sections in my outlines, I’ll write a whole section of dialogue, I’ll write an general concept of what I wanna do. There are a lot of brackets where I explain the next scene’s gonna be if I’m not there yet.  But I had that entire first chapter completely outlined and in little bracketed sections and had notes for how I wanted it laid out and what I wanted the dialogue to feel like and how much I wanted to curse in the first chapter because it changed.  How much I wanted to feel like you were being told the story in the head of Nicole. And everything was just so strategized because this piece, this fic is like easily my favorite thing that I’ve written. It’s so much fun for me to do. Because it’s easy to go into that character.  If I’ve had a bad day this is the best thing I can do, I can just open this fic and be like, “alright, how am I going to make people angry today,” or if I have been in this situation and I were not a fairly nice person in public how would I write this, or how would I have done it, how would I have played it out.  In  _ High Fidelity _ H he has this conversation with a guy like four times and each time is progressively more violent and then you see the actual event of what happened.  I kind of wanted to do that where you’re like, “woah, pushing it.” I just wanted it to be over the top and then work it’s way back down to a comfortable level that I could maintain.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I think you’ve absolutely done that and I am loving the story and I cannot wait to see where the story progresses but we are out of time which means that we have to ask you the final question which we have changed up…

 

ELITE : I hate you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : We have changed it up…

 

ELITE : I hate you so much.

 

ELITE : I was ready for the genre question, it was my life.

 

DARKWICCAN : We gotta keep you on your toes.

 

DELAYNE : Not all repeats get the same...

 

DARKWICCAN : So you’re very extra special final question, Delayne?

 

ELITE : This is rude.

 

DELAYNE : Alright, you are stranded on a desert island and can have only one LP to listen to, what is it?

 

ELITE : I seriously have a stack of vinyl in this room right now so I could stare at them this entire time and try to pick one, um, I have narrowed it down to three, two of them are different versions of the same thing.  I have, I think I’m going with The Who’s  _ Tommy _ , the film version because Tina Turner, and also Elton John.  So I’m going  _ Tommy _ , by The Who, the movie soundtrack edition, original soundtrack recording, featuring Anne Margaret, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Keith Moon, one of the highlights, that’s their drummer, and Tina Turner.

 

DARKWICCAN : That is, that’s fantastic.  I love The Who’s  _ Tommy _ .  I listened to the studio version for ages and ages and there are elements about the film soundtrack that I like, I like Tina Turner as the Acid Queen and I did like Elton’s cover of  _ Pinball Wizard _ but I gotta say for me, man, there’s just something about that studio album.

 

ELITE : Uh, I like Roger Daltrey, what sold me on it is honestly Keith Moon is honestly Keith Moon as Uncle Ernie, because he’s so terrifying that I’m in love with it.  And also Tina Turner as the Acid Queen is like unattainably good, you can’t go wrong. She’s perfect, she’s perfect, it’s also a wonderful film. But that’s my surprise pick.

 

DELAYNE : I saw The Who at The Gorge.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice.

 

ELITE : I hate you.  I hate you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] 

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, Elite, we’re going to send you off into the world, fresh with your hate for Delayne, so that it fuels you as you continue to write Everybody Feels, Everybody Understands.  Thank you for taking time out to talk to us again and I am going to listen to my The Who’s  _ Tommy _ album.

 

ELITE : It was nice to be back, I missed you guys, have a good one.

  
  
  


And that'S all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.   
  
Tremendous thanks to iwaseliteonce for stopping by to chat about their story 'everybody cares, everybody understands.   
  
  
Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro   
  
Background music for the episode was:   
  
A Proper Story  by Darren Korb   
  
Fragile Heart BY Georgie Luttrell   
  
Moby Dick BY Led Zeppelin   
  
and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan   
  
  
If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast.    
  
And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.   
  
And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.   
  
  
Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
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> 
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	21. Camp!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DW and Delayne strap on their hiking boots, load up their cargo shorts with candy contraband and head to summer camp as they discuss the excellent work ‘all the lights that lead us there’ by belikebumblebee. Then they chat with the author with a little help from actor Kathryn Philbrook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/camp)

 

Read the fic!

‘[all the lights that lead us there](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15766260)’ by [belikebumblebee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/belikebumblebee/pseuds/belikebumblebee) 

 

Episode artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

 

belikebumblebee’s Desert Island fic selection: ‘[Who Needs Shelter](https://archiveofourown.org/works/893281)’ by deemn 

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [MrsBlueBacon](https://twitter.com/mrsbluebacon)

 

EFA Episode 221- Camp

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy, and welcome everybody to this week’s episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host DarkWiccan, and with me in her C I T shirt and cargo shorts is my wonderful cohost.

 

DELAYNE : Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey Delayne, how are you this week?

 

DELAYNE : I’m ok, how are you doing?

 

DARKWICCAN : Doing ok, I’m sure our listeners have noticed I’m a little subdued, as everyone knows, we record this podcast about a month in advance of the air date, and unfortunately uh, our announcer guy, also known as my Dad, passed away, uh, only a few days ago. And you might be wondering “well, then why in the heck, DW, are you recording a show right now?” And it’s because, like my Dad, the consummate performer, the show must go on, and quite frankly, this is helping me stay a little sane. Fanfiction and  _ Wynonna Earp _ and the Earpers have been helping me immensely through these first few very difficult days, and yeah, I am ready to talk about fanfic ‘cause I frickin’ love it and my Dad would want me to. So, just wanna take a moment to dedicate this episode to my Dad, Byron Tidwell, who was um, my hero and my friend, and I miss him so much. It doesn’t seem real yet. Um, but, uh, ya know, he’d uh. Ya know, I’m actually in his home studio right now. I’m back at home with my Mom in Las Vegas, and so I’m in his studio recording this episode from his setup and I can feel him all around me and it’s just a nice feeling.

 

DELAYNE : I love you, man. I just wanna put that out there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh. I love you, too. Uh, and like I said, my Dad would want us to carry on, so let’s, let’s proceed on [CONTENT CENSORED, PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, Delayne, I got a question for ya.

 

DELAYNE : I’m sure I have an answer for ya. And I have a bug flying around me, right now. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, that is appropriate, given the topic today.

 

DELAYNE : Got it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Got it? Ok. So, my question for you, Delayne, is...did you ever go to summer camp as a kid?

 

DELAYNE : I did not because I grew up on a farm, and I guess that was [laughter]. My parents...

 

DARKWICCAN : There was enough of the nature for you there?

 

DELAYNE : Uh, my parents let us wander around ‘cause we always had grandma’s around, so they did need to send me off to summer camp to get out of their hair, ‘cause they were just at work. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I would have loved to have gone ‘cause from what I’ve seen in the movies, it looks hilarious and fun. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know, I never went to sleep-away camp, but I did go to summer day camps and uh, but they weren’t like, ya know, the camps of film and television...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and  _ Salute Your Shorts _ , ya know...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...they weren’t like that. It was, uh, it was theater camps. I went to theater camps for the summer and um, honestly, some of, like, my fondest memories as a kid, ya know, looking back, were those summers spent at those theater camps. In fact, there’s one very famous, uh, theater ca...summer camp in upstate New York, um, that a movie is actually based on and the movie is called  _ Camp... _

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and if my parents had known when we were living in New York, about this camp, ‘cause it’s been around for decades, they would have done everything in their power to send me to the camp, but we didn’t find out about it until we moved all the way out to California, and...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...we were like goshdangit.

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause  _ Camp _ sounds definitely like your kind of camp. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and it’s a great movie, uh, ya know, if anyone hasn’t seen it yet. It’s a fantastic flick and I highly recommend it. They actually use a lot of the kids from the actual camp.

 

DELAYNE : That makes sense.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, to make the film. And it is a very high caliber um, camp, I mean, the level, the level of professionalism, I mean, they’re basically training these kids how to be professional, Broadway caliber performers. It’s actually, one of the people on the board is Stephen Sondheim.

 

DELAYNE : Oh. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s a, it’s a friggin’ serious camp, man. I mean, it’s a big deal, this camp. And I can’t remember the name of it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : In the movie, they call it Camp Ovation, but that’s not the actual name of the actual camp. I can’t think of the actual name right now.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s not really important because we’re not talking about theater camp, we’re talking about more traditional, in the woods, Camp Hiawatha style camp, and uh, that is because today we’re talking about the story, “all the lights that lead us there” by belikebumblebee.

 

DELAYNE : Yes, and this is a very, at least as far as I’m aware, a very traditional style, as in what we see in movies and TV, uh, sleep-away camp where kids are sent out into the woods for the entire summer and um, lots of activities, lots of stuff going on, and this is Camp Purgatory.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And the main building, or the um, yeah, I guess the main building...

 

DARKWICCAN : The main building, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...where the cafeteria is, is the homestead.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And we do have Waverly and Wynonna, and Willa, coming back to camp where they had all been counselors before, but this is the first year without Uncle Curtis and so they’re coming back to help out at camp.

 

DARKWICCAN : Grr Willa.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Grr. Yeah, ya know, it’s interesting, as I was reading back through the story, uh, prior to our recording session today, um, I had forgotten that...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You forgot about Willa?

 

DARKWICCAN : the reason. No, I had forgotten about Curtis. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Oh. Oh, I bet that was kind of heartbreaking, huh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, a little bit, but actually a little cathartic, as well.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : I was like “boy, I’m glad this, this”, ya know, my Dad had great timing, so this is just par for the course.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Oh, my gosh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, yeah, so, so, like reading about Waverly dealing with her grief, and that fact that she’s having a hard time crying about Curtis’ passing and that she feels something’s wrong with her because she can’t seem to cry about it, um, nah, I will say that I have cried recently, but during the day, like right now, I’m functioning pretty fine, and dealing with the uh, the um, mundanities of end of life business, right, I’ve been fine, helping my Mom go through the legality, legal paperwork and all that crap. I’ve been fine, and I’m like, “I feel like I should be crying right now, but I’m not, is something wrong with me?” [laughter] Uh, so, so, reading about Waverly having a similar kind of struggle um...

 

DELAYNE : Makes you feel better?

 

DARKWICCAN : ...has actually been very...yeah. Makin’ me feel better. Like “oh, it’s not just me. Good. Good. It’s a fictional character, too, that’s good.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Oh, I. Uh, yeah, that was uh, interesting, but uh, yeah, the, Willa being there was something. I had actually forgotten about.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh. Frickin’ Willa, man. Like, ya know, belikebumblebee does such a great job here, of making her absolutely despise-able.

 

DELAYNE : Oh yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : She’s just in peak bitch format. She is, and she, oy.

 

DELAYNE : And, and it’s very similar to canon in that Waverly is, immediately is standoffish and Wynonna is just trying her best. She really wants for it to work, she wants to, ya know, connect with her sister again, and it’s, oh. Fuckin’ Willa. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Uh, but, uh, yeah, oh, and what I found interesting is that Waverly, in the story, she’s standoffish, but at the same time, ya know, she recognizes Willa as her sister, and she is a lot more, um, trusting on the surface, than Waverly is on the show. Like, she actually goes in to give Willa a hug, even though it’s basically like...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...would you say hugging a pole? Right? Uh, not because Willa is skinny, but because there’s no reciprocal, like, humanity there.

 

DELAYNE : It’s about as emotional as hugging a pole.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Uh, so, so that is, [laughter] yeah. So, Nicole, of course, is there, we should probably mention the fact that Nicole is there.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, and she’s got her dog, Hunter, with her. Um, for reasons that are made clear later on, which I do think is kind of a spoiler ‘cause we do know that Nicole and Waverly are gonna get together [trails off].

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Um, ya know, it’s not any, it’s not a whole lot different from canon, so I guess, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it’s, so, she’s getting divorced from Shae. And Shae was supposed to take the dog for the summer, but Shae couldn’t.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so, uh, Nicole got permission from Gus to bring Hunter with her and Hunter is just the sweetest. Isn’t he like a Border Collie?

 

DELAYNE : That’s what, I, I should have. I’ve gotta look it up now.

 

DARKWICCAN : I should have made a note.

 

DELAYNE : Right. ‘Cause I know, it’s either, why was I thinking Black Lab or Border Collie?

 

DARKWICCAN : Maybe he is a Black Lab. ‘Cause quite honestly I just don’t recall, off the top of my head, of course my head is a little scattered right now, but yeah, uh, I know that he’s got soft ears.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Like, that’s something that, that’s something that is commented on pretty regularly. He’s got soft ears and people love petting his soft ears.

 

DELAYNE : Oh. And, uh, he does like to roll over and have his belly scratched, but that’s.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, Nicole, sorry, “Hunter, Nicole’s Border Collie, looked up from between two seats”, so he is a Border Collie. Ok.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright. Mystery solved.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I don’t know why my mind was tricking me that it maybe was something other than a Border Collie ‘cause.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know, I think that there’s been another story, uh, where Nicole did have a Border Collie. Um.

 

DELAYNE : A Black Lab?

 

DARKWICCAN : Or, did have a Black Lab, yeah. Uh, so, I, that must be what your...

 

DELAYNE : The lines got crossed?

 

DARKWICCAN : The lines. Yeah, the streams crossed.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know, we read a lot of of fic, and it, normally it’s Calamity Jane, is the pet.

 

DELAYNE : Right?

 

DARKWICCAN : So, that’s kind of. Yeah, when you have a switch up, uh, ya know, it gets, when you’re thinking back across fics.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Like Hunter is Hunter is Hunter is Hunter. We’re not confusing...

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hunter the character uh, who happens to be a dog, it’s just more like the breed. Like, “what breed is it this time?” Ya know, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Are we picturing someone like Bernie, or are we picturing a whole other dog all together? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, exactly. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Um, but so, so, yeah, Nicole is working at the camp as a counselor, as well, and of course, she and, she and Waverly get assigned to the same tent.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] And...

 

DARKWICCAN : So...

 

DELAYNE : Sorry.

 

DARKWICCAN : So close. So close to the bed sharing trope. So close.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] “Oh darn, my cot is…” We never had that, did we? My cot is broken, I have to share yours.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] We uh...

 

DARKWICCAN : No, but they do end up snuggling when they have to take shelter from the storm in the main, uh, homestead, main hall of the homestead.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, but they do have a makeshift, zip together the sleeping bags in their tents.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ultimately.

 

DELAYNE : Ultimately, a little later. I don’t know if that’s a spoiler, or if people wanna hear about it. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I think people know that it’s WayHaught, they’re gonna get WayHaught, but not this ‘cause this is rated G. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, I’m sure they get hot in the sleeping bags ‘cause sleeping bags are hot, ya know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, but, ya know, belikebumblebee has got such a way, such a sense of humor.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my gosh.

 

DARKWICCAN : I love their sense of humor.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my gosh. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] All these, kind of, asides, narrative asides, ya know, kind of shoved in here and there, as either Waverly or Nicole are regarding the other, ya know, and having, having not pure thoughts.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s, ya know, and thinking to themselves and either talking themselves into or out of something, it’s...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...they’re really, they’re, [laughter] yeah. It’s, it’s really, yeah, bumblebee has got a great sense of humor. I love their writing. A they’re also, it’s very, um, vivid, their writing is very descriptive, and very vivid, so you really, it’s easy for me to picture all the settings and the um, the sensations that are happening around them, whether it’s a storm, a rain storm, or just, ya know, being by the campfire playing music on a guitar. It’s just, uh, very environmental, I feel like I’m there.

 

DELAYNE : Ya wanna know what scene was very vivid for me?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Oh dear.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Nicole chopping wood. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That [pause] was vivid for a lot of people.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um.

 

DELAYNE : And the setup, like “no, you need to take Nicole this cold soda, now.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That was really, really funny. Good on Chrissy...

 

DELAYNE : Right?

 

DARKWICCAN : ...for being such a great wingman, or sorry, wingperson. Just, good on Chrissy.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I love, again, bumblebee’s got Chrissy here, a fan favorite, and Chrissy, and bumblebee does a fantastic job of making Chrissy the perfect bestfriend.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, for Waverly. And it’s just really great to see her...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...pushing Waverly toward Nicole, it’s a lot of fun.

 

DELAYNE : And then of course, when we get just a wee bit angsty, we have protective Chrissy coming in like “hey”...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : …”what’s goin’ on here?”

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh huh. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] So, yes, I adore any fic that uses Chrissy to this extent, and of course, does it extremely well.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, yes. I, all of bumblebee’s characterizations are spot on the money. Um, I, I am thoroughly, yeah, I thoroughly enjoy how they uh, really capture every single character in, like, lightning in a bottle, it’s just, like I can totally picture Nicole doing everything she does, despite the fact she’s not looking to be a police officer, this is another one where she is still in service, but not, uh, not as a peace officer.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Or, desires, does not desire to be a peace officer. It’s. I love how...

 

DELAYNE : Well, actually she does mention that um, when Waverly is asking her about what kind of park ranger she wants to be, she does mention that she has experience, or, there’s something in the wording that indicates that Nicole does have some sort of, not quite police officer experience, but uh, oh, man, see, I should really make notes, I make so few notes when the story is good, and I just read. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, yeah, ‘cause you’re not thinking it, you’re just sucked in ‘cause the writing is so excellent. So, I would actually take it as a compliment if I was belikebumblebee.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : For you to say, “I’m sorry I forgot to take notes, I was so engrossed in the amazing storytelling.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But, I think you’re right, I think you’re right, I think that Nicole did mention something about law enforcement, but, like you, I can’t bring it, but hey, everybody, just read it and you’ll know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You’ll be able to tweet at us “yeah, you right”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, you can tell us, right.

 

DELAYNE : “You got it”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I’m still waiting for the day someone @’s me and says “you were way off base”, but uh, it hasn’t happened yet. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’ve had, I’ve had people message me and go, “you got this wrong” and I’m like “oh, thank you.” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I will make a note in the show notes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Oh, right, yeah, you take care of way much more stuff than I do, so, I didn’t even think about that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Woops. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Woops.

 

DELAYNE : Sorry friend.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but uh, yeah, ok, so I will say the Nicole chopping wood was an iconic...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...wonderful, wonderful moment, but for me, honestly, and this might sound a little strange, my favorite scene, prior to when they officially, like, more or less get together...

 

DELAYNE : Admit their feelings for each other?

 

DARKWICCAN : ...my favorite scene...admit the feelings...was the concussion scene.

 

DELAYNE : Oh.

 

DARKWICCAN : The, the, where Waverly, uh, Nicole, by means that I will not divulge, manages to get a pretty decent concussion, and uh, she is advised that she needs to be woken up every, what, hour or something?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, every hour.

 

DARKWICCAN : Every hour and uh, so, Waverly’s like “ok, I can do that.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And Nicole was like “you don’t wanna do that” and she was like “no, I’ll do that” and so yeah, she does that all night long, wakes Nicole up, every hour. They’re both kind of going through this ordeal together.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And uh, ya know, they just kind of, over time, it just becomes very sweet and uh, I like how there’s a moment where Waverly gets a little worried about Nicole and uh, and it’s, it’s just, I don’t know. For me it’s...

 

DELAYNE : It’s a very intimate moment without being, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Exactly. Thank you, friend, thank you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s exactly what I was going for. Yes.

 

DELAYNE : You missed the funny part, though. Just before this when Wynonna first volunteered to wake Nicole up.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : To babysit Nicole, ‘cause she’s like “woohoo I can get out of doin’ stuff”. And once she learned it required waking her up every hour, she’s like “oh no, yeah, Waverly you’ve got this”. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, there’s definitely a few, no, I guess no a few counselors that try to get. There was one counselor in particular that tried to get away with not doing any work, but we’ve already bitched about her.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Well, she was doing work, but she wasn’t doing work for the camp.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Oh, she was gettin’ in to some trouble, is what she was doin’.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : Causin’ trouble.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yep. Kickin’ up some crap. Yeah, and I mean, not little crap like the person who she’s in cahoots with.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Which, I mean [trails off]. Nah, I guess I’ll leave it. But there’s a person who she’s in cahoots with who she has canonically been in cahoots with, and they are like doing stuff to truly endanger the campers and cause damage to the camp itself, and that’s sort of the plot of the story, is this kind of secondary issue happening in the background with this individual who is uh, in cahoots with Willa and they’re endangering the camp, and so, so that is, belikebumblebee does a really good job of incorporating that B plot running along the A plot of Waverly and Nicole and weaving them together successfully.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And it’s, yeah, they’re just, they’re just a really excellent author.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, ya know, they must have, they must have gone to camp.

 

DELAYNE : Right?! [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Had some sort of camping experience, and it feels like they really get, like, the, ya know there’s a certain um, something, about the mythology of the American summer camp, right?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, that, they’ve really captured that, and they’ve captured it from the perspective of the counselors instead of the kids.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : There are, yeah, there are other summer camp AUs that are also quite good, but they have Waverly and Nicole as campers, so children, essentially, or teenagers, and in this instance we have a situation where they are counselors instead, and therefore adults. Um, which I think, actually, provides a more lush playing field for the feelings and emotions and sort of internal arguments we have with ourselves as adults when we’re trying to figure something out. They’re both terrible...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...useless gays, both of them. Useless gays, completely in their heads um, but there’s a, the level of high, angsty drama is mitigated, which I think is actually nice, because when you’re writing teenagers there is that sort of...

 

DELAYNE : Heightened.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...unreal, heightened angst.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Whereas, with these adults, even though they’re both going through something very profound and troubling. With Waverly, it’s grieving Curtis’ death, with Nicole it’s dealing with the death of her marriage essentially, um, they’re both dealing with these big deal things, but it’s not overwrought and it’s not over the top and ridiculous...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and it doesn’t cloud their field of vision to the point where you’re going “oh for frickin’ sakes [trails off]”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, I really like the fact that belikebumblebee made them counselors and not campers in this story.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, when I was younger, I was definitely jealous of those who got to go to camp and do that sort of fun stuff, and then when I was in college, I was actually jealous, ‘cause in the college of natural resources, uh, I think they’ve changed the name, but there was a department that was Resource, Recreation, and Tourism, and so these were all the college students that were learning to do summer camp and so like, their field trips would be to go white water rafting and camping and stuff like that, and I’m like “oh”. Of course, they had to take all the sociology and psychology classes too, so I was not that envious of that part, but they go to do fun stuff [laughter]...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ...for class. And so, I have a picture in my mind of those, the types of people that were in that department, and um, bumblebee did a really good job of capturing that. It, the characters are so well written, I could picture them, I could picture me in college, with them ya know, in my dorm room, and they’re telling me what they did for summer camp, which ya know, they probably got a credit for. And it’s like “oh”. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Darnit, stop bragging. Yeah. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : So, I definitely, I like this story, a lot.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and as I mentioned at the beginning of the show today, um, with talking about the money bring in through our various avenues of support, um, today, it’s really helping us out because belikebumblebee is actually not from the US. They are from Europe, and English is not their first language. Can you believe it?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That definitely surprised me, because.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, you could knock me over with a feather. I would never in a million years. When they told me this, I was like “I’m sorry?” So, they don’t speak English. Uh, they do, but they’re not confident in being able to answer quickly because they’re having to mentally, ya know, translate it before they speak, so we’ve arranged, much like we did with Seda’s interview where we had MJ read, we actually, because I wanted a unique voice, um, I actually went and hired one of the voice actors that I use for the audiobooks that we produce to come in and uh, and, she’s gonna read belikebumblebee’s answers for us in the second segment today. So, we, it’s gonna be a little stiff I think, because again, we’re reading from something, but we’ve tried to make it as conversational as possible, and I hope you all enjoy it, uh, and a huge thanks to Kathryn Philbrook, the actress who is reading for bumblebee today, umm, and uh, yeah, I’m looking forward to you guys hearing that. But we couldn’t do that if we didn’t have your support because we do, I mean, she is a professional, so, she’s a professional voice actor.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, she’s being compensated for this time and we couldn’t do that if we didn’t have your support to make that happen, so this is kind of like your taxes at work when you’re driving down the road works are up?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : The signs that say your taxes at work. This is your support at work, here.

 

DELAYNE : This is your patronage at work.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, so you can get a sense of it beyond just the production of the show. Um, so, yeah, that’s happening in the second segment today, and I’m excited to get to that and have you all listen to the dulcet tones of the lovely Kathryn Philbrook, so let us go ahead and move on. 

 

[CONTENT CENSORED, PLEASE SEE EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC : Summer (The Sun Can Bend An Orange Sky) by Erik Barone

 

DARKWICCAN : Hi everyone and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am still your host DarkWiccan, and with me is my wonderful friend and cohost--

 

DELAYNE : Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are so grateful today to have with us one of my favorite people in the world. She is a terrific actress and spectacular voice actor and she is helping us out today by reading back belikebumblebee’s answers for her, as English is belikebumblebee’s second language. So, Kathryn Philbrook, welcome onto the show.

 

KATHRYN : Hey, thank you for having me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you for doing this, I really appreciate it. So, are you ready to uh, to get into character and to become belikebumblebee?

 

KATHRYN : Yes, yes. I’ll put on my writer hat.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright, fantastic, let’s do this.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Hi belikebumblebee and welcome to the show!

KATHRYN as BEE : Thank you, and hello.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s so wonderful having you on, would you like us to call you belikebumblebee or is just Bee ok?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : Just Bee is fine. That's actually where the U R L comes from; I was in an English course with lots of people from all over the world, and because my real name is slightly unusual, people would try (and fail) to pronounce it, so eventually I just ended up telling them "Just call me Bee, like Bumblebee."

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s so awesome! And, you’re based out of Germany, correct?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : I am, yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, thank you so much for taking the time to reply to our questions in writing so that we can speak with you today with the side of our voice actor Kathryn. Uh, shall we dive right into the questions?

KATHRYN as BEE : Sure!

 

DARKWICCAN : How long have you been writing fanfiction?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : That depends on your definition of "fanfiction," I think. I've been dreaming up and writing out fix-its or missing scenes or self-inserts for the fictional work of others for as long as I've been able to read and write, but I didn't learn what fanfiction was until I was twelve. The first fic I ever wrote  _ knowing _ it was fanfiction was a self-insert Mary Sue Lord of the Rings fic... and because I didn't find any of the male characters particularly appealing (I wonder why?), I inserted a Gary Stu character for the romance. And I am definitely doing gay finger-guns as I am saying this.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ok, so, what got you into Wynonna Earp?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : I saw gifsets floating around, liked both the dialogue and the queer content, and decided to give it a shot. Uh, what kept me around wasn't just Waverly and Nicole, though; I stayed for the relationship between the three sisters, the campy supernatural Western feel, and the music.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, you say that you weren’t there for Waverly and Nicole, or not mostly, so why do you feel WayHaught is important?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : I'm sure people will disagree with me on this, and that is fine, but: I don't actually think it's all that important in the grand scheme of things. Representation matters, and while it's great that they're still alive and have a place within the narrative, I personally don't think the way their relationship is depicted on the show has much to offer the world at large beyond that – at least not since season 3.  _ I  _ connected with Waverly and Nicole because I related strongly to Waverly when I first started watching, so they may be important to me personally, but when I look at it rationally, I think there are other representations of queer couples out there that are of greater importance in the media landscape.

 

DELAYNE : Hmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, alright. I think [laughter]...

 

DELAYNE : Nothing wrong with that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nothing wrong with that. I think we can totally agree with that. Ya know, I mean, my, my, I think our, or at least my opinion, is skewed, I think that Waverly and Nicole are hugely important to queer representation, but they’re still, ya know, a couple of white ladies, so uh, as far as, like,…

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...getting into a broader sort of people of color, getting into those marginalized minority groups, I think, yeah, there are other uh, relationships out there in media right now that definitely are um, uh, pushing that envelope a bit more effectively and uh, representing a bit better, but uh, but that’s not what we’re really here to talk about. We’re here to talk a little about WayHaught, but we’re also here to talk about your fantastic story, “all the lights that lead us there”, which is a story that takes place at an American, or maybe a Canadian, rather a Canadian uh, summer camp, and so I’m just curious, Bee, uh, did you have any real life camp experiences you used to draw from this?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : Funnily enough: not really. I have never been to summer camp.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I’m glad we’re not alone.

 

KATHRYN as BEE : I spent one week at a pilgrimage camp, though, and that experience is near and dear to my heart. I started writing “all the lights that lead us there” first and foremost for a feeling, an atmosphere that I wanted to convey, and that was definitely inspired by that camp experience. But the actual ins and outs of a children's summer camp I had no idea about – especially not in a North American context – so I had to do a lot of research on what exactly people even _do_ all day at summer camp.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KATHRYN as BEE : But there are some things you can't Google, and for those I luckily had a fellow writer friend who allowed me to ask all kinds of questions – Smurf, who has been on this show before.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah. Smurf’s great. Smurf’s awesome.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Smurf is able to answer lots of questions.

 

DARKWICCAN : Smurf is basically, uh, Wikipedia. Just walking Wikipedia.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Um, I would like to know what was your inspiration for the chapter titles, ‘cause some of them were uh, very clearly song lyrics, but I wanna know if there’s like a deeper meaning.

 

KATHRYN as BEE : They are all song lyrics – you can find the corresponding songs in a playlist I posted in the very last author notes. Sometimes only that one line fits the chapter, sometimes it's the whole song, sometimes the lyrics are secondary to the mood of the music. My opinion on which title fits into which category changes – for example, I was just about to say that for chapter two, say hello to my force field, only the one line fits. But the more I think about it, the more I think I could put that up for discussion…

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I think so too. I think so too.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Obviously we can’t really discuss it right now, um, [laughter].

 

DELAYNE : Right?!

 

DARKWICCAN : Right? Uh, but uh…

 

DELAYNE : I should have done more research into the playlist myself [laughter].

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, ya know what in fact we just had an episode all about playlists in fics, so gosh, this one just sort of slipped right by us, I think.

 

DELAYNE : Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : But that’s ok, ‘cause now it gets its own episode, right?

 

DELAYNE : Exactly.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Uh, yeah, no, I think that the chapter titles definitely uh, held true thematically through each of the chapters, and I think that they work really well. And it’s one of those things where I don’t think I really noticed it until I went back to reread and was like “oh yeah these really do ring true to what’s happening in each of these chapters.” So, excellent lyrics choices, there. Um, so you’ve got, this is obviously an alternate universe to the canon storyline of the television show, um, and, so you had to take the characters from the show and kind of put them into this world of the summer camp, did you find it easy to take 'the gang' and transpose them all into this setting?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : For the most part, yes. Especially Doc being the camp nurse was super convenient.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KATHRYN as BEE : Figuring out who would teach what was a little trickier, but all in all, I thought everything lent itself surprisingly nicely to this idea I had. I liked that I could take the characters out of this world where everything is supremely difficult all the time (you know, with the family curse and the dangerous demons and the crushing responsibility) and put them in an environment that is a little safer. That way, I could look a little more closely at the interpersonal details: how to fall in love while mourning the death of a loved one or just stepping out from under a mountain of heartbreak, what it means to navigate through the troubled waters of complicated sister dynamics, or how it feels to grow into a group of friends.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm. Yeah. God, you’re smart.

 

DELAYNE : Very well done.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, very well done.

 

DELAYNE : One of my favorite characters. Kind of a small part, uh, is Hunter. [laughter] And I’m wondering, is Hunter in place of Calamity Jane or maybe inspired by Bernie or Kat’s love of animals?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : You know what, I should stick with these guesses, because they are much more creative than the truth…

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KATHRYN as BEE : ...which is: Hunter is 100% self-indulgence. I honestly just missed dogs. I grew up with them and had to leave our family dog with my parents when I moved out, so I really just wanted to feel like I was hanging out with a dog again – at first, anyway. As fun as dogs are to write, it did mean having another element to constantly keep track of in order to keep it somewhat realistic, which was a piece of work at times. So I was glad when I realized that he served another purpose within the story, too: you can look at him as Nicole's externalized heart, if you will.

 

DELAYNE : Aww.

 

KATHRYN as BEE : That was very helpful when writing a character who is otherwise relatively stoic, and not one to process her feelings out loud.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh my gosh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I hadn’t even thought about that.

 

DELAYNE : Right?!

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s amazing. Even if that was only an afterthought, what a brilliant, I mean, accident. I mean, that’s, that’s great. It’s so true though.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, he kind of is the heart that Nicole would wear on her sleeve if she wasn’t trying to internalize so much. That’s…

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...gosh. That’s so. Man, I didn’t even think...nice. Ok.

 

DELAYNE : Woohoo, I get points for my question.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, speaking of Nicole’s sort of stoicism, uh, and also the fact that Waverly is going through uh, her own, uh, type of heartbreak in the loss of her Uncle Curtis at the start of the story, um, so they’re kind of not in a good place to form any sort of emotional bond with each other because they are sort of distant from even themselves. You characterized this story as a slow-burn, but I’m wondering if feelings wise do you believe Waverly and Nicole fell in love at first sight or more that the feelings grew with their contact?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : I mean, I know this wasn't exactly a slow-burn in the traditional sense – I know there are some 50-chaptered epics out there (probably about Glee, let's be real)...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KATHRYN as BEE : ...that cover  _ years _ before the characters find each other _ ,  _ who are laughing in the face of my little story that spans only seven weeks. I mostly classified it a slow-burn so people would know not to expect immediate pay-off. Feelings-wise— this story had a different working title that works well to explain how I feel about this idea; it was called  _ first it's the spark and then it's the flame.  _ I personally don't believe you can truly fall in  _ love  _ with someone without at least catching a glimpse of their personality first. But I do think there can be a spark of interest and intrigue. In this story, Waverly and Nicole take notice of one another immediately, and they find each other physically attractive, but the feelings come gradually. The end of this story is not really the end; that's what I was trying to show with these little flash-forwards I had in the last chapter: for Nicole and Waverly, this is only the beginning. They've known each other for barely two months; really  _ loving  _ each other is what happens  _ next _ .

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. No, that’s true. That’s a very realistic way of approaching it. Yeah, I mean, you can kind of have a summer romance right, in fact, in the story, Waverly, or Chrissy, convinces Waverly that’s what this is. It’s more of a summer romance and then Chrissy immediately feels bad about it because she was wrong.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But, yeah, you can’t really base a lifetime off of a situation like that, you can’t take it and go “yes, this is forever”. [laughter] Because you’re in this unusual situation. You’re in a um, alternate reality yourself. People don’t live at summer camp. I mean, wow, that’d be nifty, but I mean, people don’t.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] My wife would love that. If life were really like summer camp.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right? Yeah, Becky would love that a lot. Yeah, yeah, Becky would totally dig that. But yeah, no, you’re right. This is really the beginning of their story, and I really wish I could ask you if you were planning a sequel, but I can’t.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] So many follow-up questions.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh man. Right?

 

DELAYNE :  I, yeah, I’ve gotta say, I personally was very shocked to learn that English is your second language. So, I was curious, when you write stories do you write in your native tongue first and then translate, or do you full blown write in English?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : No need to be shocked! I think the fact that fan spaces that center on fiction in English tend to communicate in English often glosses over the fact that a whole lot of us aren't actually from anglophone countries. Remember Speak Your Own Language Day on tumblr? That was fun, we should do that again. But to answer your question: when I write in English, I write in English entirely. Translation is one hell of a job, and I personally think that translating is a bit like directing a play, or conducting a piece of music, in the sense that there is always an element of new creation. A translation is never quite the same as the original (which is why Google's bots are still not particularly great at it)...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

KATHRYN as BEE : ...and it would be way too much work to write in German first and then translate it. Although I do constantly have to come up with ways to navigate around specific German turns of phrases, or words with a certain nuance that just don't have a perfect English counterpart that pop into my head. When I'm writing, I usually have the German thesaurus, the English thesaurus, and a dictionary open – but what helps the most is that Smurf is endlessly patient while playing What's That Goddamn Word I'm Thinking Of with me.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Kudos to Smurf, man.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, kudos to Smurf. Yeah, I’m sure she probably offers up options throughout the gameplay. Uh, well, Bee it has been so much fun having you on the show today. We just have one final question for you. Delayne?

 

DELAYNE : Alright, you are stranded on a Desert Island and can have only one fan fiction to read. What is it?

 

KATHRYN as BEE : Fanfic in general, or Wynonna Earp?

 

DARKWICCAN : Any fandom you like.

 

KATHRYN as BEE :  Hmm, I think my answer would be "Who Needs Shelter" by deemn. Partly because it's long and I haven't read it in a while, and if I'm going to be stranded on a lonely island, I can't know my only read by heart.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Very logical.

 

DELAYNE : I think that’s the first time we’ve heard that answer.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Almost everyone else chooses something they have read already five million times and reread it on a regular basis.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah, typically, it’s people going “oh, my absolutely favorite fic that I have to have with me and I wouldn’t be able to live without and I’ve read it like sixty thousand times is…” and they would pick that one. So, I think this is, yeah, very wise Bee. Very wise to select a story that you can’t remember that well, but that you at least know is, is uh, good. And will get you through those lonely nights on that lonely island. So, awesome. Well, we will certainly post a link to "Who Needs Shelter" by deemn in the show notes for this episode so that anyone who wants to can give it a read! Bee, thank you so much for chatting with us today, it’s been such fun and I hope we can have you back on (in some form) in the future!

 

KATHRYN as BEE : Thank you for thinking of me!

 

DARKWICCAN : And Kathryn, thank you so much.

 

KATHRYN : Yeah, you’re welcome.

 

DARKWICCAN : For taking time out of your day to uh, play a character for us.

 

KATHRYN : Hey, this was fun. I learned a lot.

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everyone. Thanks for tuning in today. Stick around after the credits for a very special presentation. My father was a radio professional and he had a little radio show that would run on public radio in Alabama and it was just a little sketch show. Uh, it ran as part of a weekly, Sunday morning news magazine on public radio station WLRH in Huntsville, Alabama. It was a series called The Fingerbucket Report and for a brief time, uh, with my help, my Dad revived the series as a short lived podcast. This was back in, I wanna say, twenty twelve, twenty eleven, twenty twelve. You may have noticed that our episode ran a little short today, and that was not by design, that was by accident, but it’s just as well because it gives me the opportunity to share one of my favorite Fingerbucket episodes with you today. So, stay tuned after the credits roll and uh, I hope you enjoy hearing from Phil Hogenbeck and The Fingerbucket Report. And Dad, I love you and I miss you, and thanks for teaching me everything I know about radio.

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that'S all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.

 

Tremendous thanks to belikebumblee for providing her answers in writing and to 

Kathryn Philbrook for reading them on air.

  
  


Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

  
  


Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, Light by Alec Holowka, Summer (The Sun Can Bend An Orange Sky) by Erik Barone, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

[news segment music]

PHIL HOGENBECK : [raining in background] This is Phil Hogenbeck speakin’ to you from high atop Hyram’s Feed and Seed in beautiful Fingerbucket, Alabama. Well, what do you think about all the rain we’ve been gettin’ lately? It has been a right royal mess for everybody. But positive aspect is, the Chactahooga River is still well within its banks...for now. The bad thing here is it rained out the annual frog spit and the committee’s been going at it like lager heads tryin’ to decide whether to reschedule or blow it off ‘til next year.

 

[door opening sound]

 

LEROY MOSIER : I’ve been sayin’ for years they need to stop all this foolishness with frogs and get a respectable animal into the mix.

 

PHIL : Folks, this is Leroy Mosier, Little Leroy’s Pig Pen Boutique.

 

LEROY : They know who I am. They listen to my commercials on this Godforsaken podcast. Folks, all this rain has turned out to be a real frog drowner.

 

PHIL : No pun intended.

 

LEROY : No fun intended, you mean. I just got in a whole new supply of Peggy’s Slickers and Hog Hoof Rain boots. You can stay dry and look your best. Come by the Pig Pen Boutique and…

 

PHIL : Leroy, I think this qualifies as a commercial, which means you need to open up your checkbook and…

 

LEROY : I will tell you what. This ding dang podcast is absolutely worthless. I ain’t seen customer one from advertising here. Far as I’m concerned, you outta pay me for providing solid family values entertainment.

 

PHIL : [pause] Movin’ on. Let’s find out about that big game for Fingerbucket High against the visitors from Hot Coffee, Mississippi. We have Vern Hopkins in the studio.

 

VERN HOPKINS : This is Vern Hopkins.

 

PHIL : You don’t have to do that.

 

VERN : Do what?

 

PHIL : I introduce you and you say “this is Vern Hopkins”.

 

VERN : I said that.

 

PHIL : I know. I’m sayin’, you don’t have to say it ‘cause I already said it.

 

VERN : If you say it, it’s just gonna confuse everybody. If you say “this is Vern Hopkins” they’re gonna think you’re Vern Hopkins and they’re not gonna know who I am.

 

LEROY : Just shut up and get on with it. Nobody cares if you’re Paris Hilton or Lady Gaga.

 

VERN : Which one am I supposed to be?

 

PHIL : Vern, let’s get on with the game recap.

 

VERN : I don’t know if I’m comfortable bein’ Paris Hilton.

 

PHIL : You’re ok to be Lady Gaga?

 

VERN : At least I have the dignity to know when I got all my stuff in a handbag. To know that handbag belongs to me.

 

PHIL : Ugh. Vern. What happened in last Friday’s game?

 

VERN : Our Fingerbucket Water Moccasins, in the first home game of the year, spanked the Poodles from Hot Coffee, Mississippi.

 

PHIL : Give us the highlights.

 

VERN : With the field so water soaked, you  woulda thought it was a dishwashin’ sponge. The Poodles just laid down and rolled over, givin’ it to the Water Moccasins to slither up the field to victory.

 

PHIL : Sounds like it all went well for the Fingerbucket team.

 

VERN : I’d say, Fingerbucket coach and home economics teacher Johnny-Lee Seaforth was pretty happy with the outcome. But I do think there was some concern with gettin’ down and rollin’ in the mud with the Poodles.

 

LEROY : If you want a real roll in the mud pro, you need a pig.

 

PHIL : Leroy, you wanna step outside?

 

LEROY : You’re askin’ me to step outside? You, are askin’ me, to step outside?

 

PHIL : I mean, ‘til we get to the end of this podcast segment.

 

LEROY : Are you talkin’ to me? Are you, talkin’ to me? Are you, talkin’ to me?

 

PHIL : Leroy, I’m talkin’ to you.

 

LEROY : I’m just bein’ clear. I’ll be right outside if you need me. Remember [door opening sound] for all your porkine needs, stop into Little Leroy’s Pig Pen Boutique. [door closing sound]

 

PHIL : Any spectacular plays you wanna tell us about?

 

VERN : This is the Fingerbucket team we’re talkin’ about.

 

PHIL : Gotchya.

 

VERN : For the Water Moccasins, we consider it a real wrap.

 

PHIL : Final score.

 

VERN : Moccasins, six. Poodles, two.

 

PHIL : Poodles got a safety.

 

VERN : First play of the game. Poodles elected to kick, and the ball bouncey bounced all the way into the Fingerbucket end zone. Jason Demint grabbed it and attempted to bring it back, but with the end zone more like a mud wrestlin’ pit than a grid iron field, he couldn’t get no traction and ran in place ‘til a Poodle grabbed his leg and humped him down.

 

PHIL : What’s up next for the Fingerbucket High Moccasins?

 

VERN : Coach Seaforth is debatin’ whether or not to meet up with the Paint Rock Stones or take the team to the South Alabama regional bake off over in Monroeville. Weighin’ the options, I’d have to say that wide receiver Taggert Duwell has a risotto that’ll knock your socks off. I’d take the bake off, but it’s Coach Seaforth’s call.

 

PHIL : Thank you, Vern Hopkins. You’re listening to The Fingerbucket Report. I’m Phil Hogenbeck. More after this.

 

[news segment music]

 

PETER MOUNDS : Hey, I’m Peter Mounds.

 

PAUL MOUNDS : And I’m Paul Mounds.

 

PETER and PAUL : And we’re the Mounds brothers.

 

PETER : Ever since the E P A shut down the Mounds Brother’s Garage, you know me and Paul as the ghost shuckers.

 

PAUL : And we guarantee we will shuck any ghost, poltergeist or haint right off your premises.

 

PETER : We’re workin’ on demons, but we hadn’t quite got the hang of them yet.

 

PAUL : So we offer our sincere apologies to Audrey Hempstead, and we truly, truly will rebuild your hundred and fifty seven year old family homestead just as soon as we can sell Peter’s complete Happy Meal toy collection on Ebay.

 

PETER : ‘Til then, we are now Peter and Paul Mounds Professional Sandbaggers.

 

PAUL : That’s right, Peter. With all the rain, the creek’s are flowin’. One call does it all. We’ll stack sandbags all around your building and throw in a free exorcism for any single entity.

 

PETER : Plus, we provide sandbaggin’ services to politicians regardless of your affiliation.

 

PAUL : They’re pretty good at that on my own.

 

PETER : Just lookin’ at potential markets…

 

PHIL : Boys, you’re runnin’ long here. This is supposed to be a sixty second commercial, not an hour long infomercial.

 

PETER : Hey Paul. We outta do that. Get us one of those TV infomercials.

 

PAUL : Heck yeah. Get us one of them studio audiences and live testimonials and product demonstrations.

 

PETER : You know it. We could stack up some sand bags…

 

PAUL : Hey, hey, listen to this. We could shuck a ghost on live TV.

 

PETER : Now that would be truly N S F W.

 

PHIL : Boys. Wrap it up.

 

PETER and PAUL : Peter and Paul Mounds for all your supernatural and natural disasters.

 

PETER : Good slogan Paul.

 

PAUL : I thought so.

 

[news segment music]

 

PHIL : [raining in background] I’m Phil Hogenbeck and you are listening to The Fingerbucket Report.

 

[knocking sound]

 

LEROY: Can I come in yet?

 

PHIL : No. All this water comin’ down is wreaking havoc on the town and it’s not that we’re not prepared for virtually anything [knocking sound] Leroy, I said not now.

 

[door opening sound]

 

BUDDY PRECIOUS : Hey Phil.

 

PHIL : Catooga County Deputy Sheriff Buddy Precious, come on in.

 

LEROY : How ‘bout me?

 

PHIL : Not now. Deputy Precious, what can I do you for?

 

BUDDY : Phil, I just came to tell your Fingerbucket listeners not to try to go nowhere.

 

PHIL : Buddy, if you chose to live in Fingerbucket, you ain’t goin’ nowhere.

 

BUDDY : You certainly ain’t gettin’ out today. Highway nineteen North is flooded all the way up to Esther’s Hiney, the county seat.

 

PHIL : And we all know about the problem just this side of the Chactahooga Bridge.

 

BUDDY : Yes. Back when Jack Hyrum was county road commissioner, and they was puttin’ in the new bridge. He cut costs by having them dig the fill for the ramp to the bridge from the roadway just before the bridge.

 

PHIL : Which put that section of road below river level.

 

BUDDY : You know it. Anytime we get a light drizzle, that piece of road turns into a good size lake.

 

PHIL : And, the big surprise for those folks comin’ from the other side of the bridge.

 

BUDDY : That reminds me. Gotta make a call over to Betty Lou’s First and Last Chance Beverages and see how Norm’s doin’.

 

PHIL : Kinda outta your jurisdiction.

 

BUDDY : Yeah. Until Catooga County folks get desperate and start tryin’ to jet sky over for a six pack.

 

[door opening sound]

 

VELMA WATKINS : Buddy Precious, you sweet thing. Just the man I’m lookin’ for.

 

LEROY : Can I come in now?

 

PHIL and Buddy: No!

 

[door closing sound]

 

VELMA : Oh, Buddy.

 

BUDDY : I’m kinda busy now, Velma.

 

VELMA : This ain’t personal. I need you in your professional capacity.

 

PHIL : Problems with The Come and Get It Cafe?

 

VELMA : You know it. We just started rebuildin’ last week, and it is blue tarp city over there. That big tarp just came down and washed up Main Street.

 

BUDDY : Oh, Velma. You don’t need your Sheriff. You need to talk to your contractor.

 

VELMA : You ever tried to find your contractor after you signed the deal? I bet he’s drinkin’ mojitos in Rio by the Sea-o. I need my favorite deputy.

 

BUDDY : Velma!

 

VELMA : Listen to me, Buddy. When that tarp came down, it exposed that big old in the middle of the cafe where that car went through and where we had the drive-thru before the health department and the health inspector shut us down. Then, the Mounds brothers piled up the sand bags and diverted the run off from Main Street, and I tell you, it has turned into the river runs through it. Those Fingerbucket High kids got these big blow up boats and they’re white water raftin’ through the cafe and hootin’ like they’re at a rock concert. I am trying to rebuild the cafe, not run a waterpark.

 

BUDDY : Come on Velma. I’ll take a look.

 

VELMA : Don’t just take a look. Do somethin’.

 

PHIL : Leroy, you can come in now.

 

LEROY : Heck no, Phil. I’m gonna go catch me a turn on the Come and Get It thrill ride before the Sheriff shuts it down.

 

[door closing sound]

 

PHIL : This is Phil in Fingerbucket. We’ll be back, right after this.

 

[news segment music]

 

NORM : Hey, this is Norm, across the Chactahooga Bridge at Betty Lou’s First and Last Chance Beverages. When we say bone dry, Catooga County, we’re referring to, you can’t legally buy alcohol there because otherwise right now, it’s an oxymoron and I ain’t referrin’ to you, Billy Kebibble. With the only way by car to get to Betty Lou’s flooded out, we know you were startin’ to get desperate. And the only thing scarier than a dry redneck, is a dry redneck wetter than a drowned rat. That’s why we have contracted specially with Gilly’s Swamp Airboats to get you over here, free of charge, with a twenty five dollar purchase at Betty Lou’s. That’s Betty Lou’s First and Last Chance Beverages, proud sponsors of The Come and Get It Cafe Waterpark.

 

[news segment music]

 

PHIL : You are listening to the Fingerbucket Report. I’m Phil Hogenbeck. For the update on that pothole in front of Hogbreath Elementary School, let’s go to crack reporter, Elmo Dinwiddy. Elmo?

 

ELMO DINWIDDY : Hiya Mr. Hogenbeck.

 

PHIL : Elmo, what’s the shape of that pothole?

 

ELMO : Who knows. I’m guessin’ kinda oval. But it’s under eighteen inches of water, so it’s kinda hard to say.

 

[screaming sounds]

 

PHIL : Sounds like some sort of small rides goin’ on at the elementary school.

 

ELMO : I’d say that’s a possiblity. Knowin’ the K through five group, but I’m not at the elementary school.

 

PHIL : Where are you Elmo?

 

ELMO : I’m at The Come and Get It Cafe river runs through it thrill ride.

 

PHIL : I thought Velma was bringin’ Buddy Precious over to shut that thing down.

 

ELMO : Oh, you know Velma. She sees an opportunity for revenue, she’s goin’ for it. Velma and her cousin Ophie, are sellin’ tickets and Deputy Precious is mannin’ the gable.

 

PHIL : Ok, and…

 

ELMO : Oh, oh. And Velma had a couple of the boys move the tarp off the roof, and now she’s selling tickets for the whirlin’ waterfall ride.

 

PHIL : What’s that?

 

ELMO : You spin on the stools at the counter and water pours down on your head. Woohoo. I gotta go Mr. Hogenbeck. My turn on the raft. Wait for me [trails off].

 

PHIL : Elmo? Elmo?

 

[screaming sounds]

 

PHIL : Well, if the rain ever stops, and the water drains off, we’ll have a new report on the Hogbreath Elementary pothole and more than likely a whole bunch more potholes. This is Phil in Fingerbucket. Back to y’all.

 

[news segment music]

 

Join us at Fingerbucket report dot com on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Fingerbucket Report is a proud sponsor of the Muppet cast with host Steve Swanson. This podcast is written and voiced by Byron Tidwell, producer Jen Tidwell. Visit Fingerbucket Report dot com and check out our store for all that special Fingerbucket merchandise you can’t live without. Copyright twenty ten. The Fingerbucket Report, all rights reserved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	22. BetaMAX!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DW and Laragh chat with the Wynonna Earp fic world’s top Beta Readers: LuckyWantsToKnow, Newt and TheGaySmurf!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/betamax)

 

Check out the Betas Author pages on AO3!

[LuckyWantstoKnow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuckyWantsToKnow/pseuds/LuckyWantsToKnow)

[Newt (aka Alesford)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alesford/pseuds/alesford)

[TheGaySmurf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGaySmurf/pseuds/TheGaySmurf)

 

Episode Artwork by: [Chantal Zeegers](http://youareavision.tumblr.com/)

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [ApproxTenCats](https://twitter.com/approxtencats)

EFA Episode 

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everyone to another episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me with her red pens and highlighters, ready to take lots of notes and provide lots of suggestions is my fantastic co-host…

 

LARAGH : Hey, it’s Laragh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Laragh!  Laragh is here. I’m always so excited when you’re here.  I love hearing your voice and you’re just such a… a… you’re just such a A+ individual.

 

LARAGH : We’ve discussed this, you know your not supposed to compliment me on air.

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m not supposed to con?  Comp?

 

LARAGH :  [laughter] Compliment me, oh god.

 

DARKWICCAN : Compliment you.  I know, I know technically I’m not supposed to but I can’t help myself.  

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE SEE FULL TRANSCRIPT AT EFAPODCAST.COM]

 

LARAGH : I have to get a “Meaningful Gayze” t-shirt for Clexacon.

 

DARKWICCAN : You have to, especially now that you’re actually going to Clexacon.

 

LARAGH : I know, I will, I’ll order one tomorrow.

 

DARKWICCAN : Fantastic.  And then you have to get Kat to sign it.  While you’re wearing it, right on the boob.

 

LARAGH : So this year, instead of me falling into their chests, I can get Kat to fall into mine. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN :  [laughter] Exactly, exactly.  [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT.]

 

LARAGH : We love it.  We love love.

 

DARKWICCAN : We love love.  Alright. So fanfic, specifically Wynonna Earp.

 

LARAGH : Finally.

 

DARKWICCAN : Finally we’ve made it, phew.  We made it you guys, thanks for your patience.  So you know what’s interesting about this week’s episode Laragh?

 

LARAGH : What is interesting about this week’s episode DW?

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you for setting me up.  It is that we are not talking about a specific fic at all, we’re actually talking about stuff that happens behind the scenes.

 

LARAGH : [singing] Behind the scenes special.

 

DARKWICCAN : Behind the scenes.  Pulling back the curtain to see those awesome, beautiful, wonderful beta readers.  Beta readers are these delightful little elves that live in the background of many many fics, especially the more popular fics that really have a huge audience, those most of the time, not all the time, but most of the time will have a beta reader attached to them.  We have talked on the show a lot just in passing about how important beta readers are and how if you can find a beta reader that works well with you, and can support you as a writer, and you are both on the same wavelength, that is like finding gold.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And you must cherish it and hold onto it.  Beta readers are essentially the editors of fanfiction, and just like fanfic authors they are doing it for free and they’re doing it for the joy of it.  And what they do is bring a level of, I’m just going to call it professionalism, to the quality of work that is being posted online when a story is published.  Does that mean that the works are always going to be absolutely perfect with no punctuation or grammatical or usage errors? No, because beta readers are human and stuff will slip by them too.  But does it mean that the quantity of those errors will be greatly reduced and perhaps the overall story will be a lot more cohesive and a lot more enjoyable? Yeah, yeah it does typically when a beta reader is on board.

 

LARAGH : I agree, yeah.  I think you can often tell.  Or maybe more accurately you can tell when a beta reader has not been implemented or used or consulted in any way.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely.  You can definitely tell when a story has had a separate pair of eyes look it over, versus when it hasn’t.  Not to say that there are not authors out there who don’t use betas whose output is fantastic. We have featured many of them on the show.  So there are very conscientious, very perfectionist authors out there who are reading and re-reading back chapters across multiple media. Maybe they’ll print it out and go over it with a red pen themselves, or maybe they’ll write it on their computer but then read it back on their phone.  Somewhere else where a mistake they might have missed will stick out more. So there are definitely authors who are excellent beta readers for themselves. But, there’s nothing wrong with having that extra pair of eyes to go in and look over stuff, there’s nothing wrong with having that person to bounce an idea or a concept off of before you put it into play, there’s nothing wrong with having somebody there in your corner to help you to flesh out a storyline and help it to come to life whereas otherwise you might have gotten stuck, or stagnated.  And there’s really nothing wrong with having someone there to smack you upside the head if you’ve taken just a completely wrong-headed turn. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : To save you from yourself.  And that is really what beta readers are there for. 

 

LARAGH : I was going to say it can be really important as well for a writer to get a reader’s perspective because when you’re writing, the vast majority of the time you’re writing with the knowledge of what’s going to happen next.  And that can make you make things too subtle or not subtle enough. You know, it’s important for someone to read with fresh eyes who is reading how every other reader is going to read.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely, and also to the other side of that, perhaps you’re writing too obviously.  Like you’re trying to be sneaky and bring in this sneaky surprise on your readers but you have actually written it really obviously so having that extra pair of eyes, that extra person to come in and read it and go, “wait a minute, does that mean that this person shot JR?”  It’s like, “dang it, I was trying so hard to not be obvious about that. So how do I make this more subtle?”

 

LARAGH : Yeah, I just think it’s a really important perspective to have, because you’re ultimately putting it out there for people to consume and you want it to be consumed in the way you intended it to be consumed and not in the way that you accidentally written it from your own viewpoint.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, thinking off the top of my head, some of the most well known fanfics that had both an author and a beta attached, of course the 80s Mixtape AU with PirateKane AKA GilliganKane on AO3 as the author and of course thegaysmurf as the beta on that.  Now the unique thing about that is that particular series, okay, to be clear, and this is something that Pirate has made clear as well, Pirate was the one doing all the writing, but Smurf was there almost really in a collaborative sense to help to develop each one-shot or two-shot that carried that series forward.  Smurf was there to help in the research capacity, Pirate is much younger than Smurf and didn’t grow up in the eighties like Smurf did, or like I did [clears throat], aging myself. So there are details about that time period, the seventies and the eighties and even the early nineties, that Pirate wouldn’t have known from experience so she really leaned on Smurf to provide that experience.  And also Smurf is incredibly detail oriented and hugely into research and did a ton of research on not only the eighties but the eighties in Canada, the Canadian eighties.

 

LARAGH : The Canadian Eighties, that sounds like a band.

 

DARKWICCAN : And so was there to help Pirate come up with and flesh out the outline for each new single, and was there to then go through and do punctuation, grammar, and usage edits once each single was complete before it was posted.  So that is a much more, what is the word I’m looking for here, beyond collaborative, symbiotic. A much more symbiotic relationship than I would say most authors and beta readers have and that’s unique.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, and you can tell by the way that it’s discussed in the fandom, it’s always Pirate and Smurf’s fics.  Whereas most fics, the vast majority of betas who beta for writers are even more unsung than the writers because they often will be thanked by their writer but that’s kind of it.  They’re not known in the same way.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, exactly.  They’re definitely a lot quieter and in the background than you would have, in fact sometimes they don’t even get the credit for that.  And that might be because the beta says, “no, don’t credit me, maybe thank me casually but I’m just [whispering] here in the background, a ghost.”  So an example of a beta/author relationship where the beta is very much in the background and just quietly doing editorial work would be Vythian’s work  _ Show Me Where Your Loyalties Lie _ and their beta Newt, or Awol-newt.  Now Newt is an author themselves and we actually interviewed them for a panel that was supposed to go up for Earp Couch Con which was unfortunately cancelled.  So I will actually be publishing that panel at the end of the podcast season this time around, so look for that in about May-ish. So Newt actually is the beta for  _ Show Me Where Your Loyalties Lie _ and Vythian, you’d never know this.  I had no idea, but again Newt is more of a background beta, they come in, they do mostly editorial work on grammar, punctuation, word usage, they don’t seem to be too involved on the story development side of things. And that’s okay because in this case Vythian absolutely has their story in mind, they know where they’re going, they know what they’re doing with it.  They just need that extra set of eyes to come in and check everything and make sure they haven’t used a gazillion commas in a single sentence or something. So that’s an example of kind of a more I would say almost traditional beta relationship. I think that betas really did start off being that extra set of eyes where authors would go, “hey can you have a look over this, if this is stupid?”  And the beta would go, “no, no that’s great man, you should publish it,” or “I don’t know, maybe take a look at the second half again” and that was kind of it. And then betas became more like editors, “hey man can you take a look at this and while you’re at it can you make sure I didn’t use a semicolon when I should have used a colon, or to make sure I didn’t misspell the word or used the wrong word when I should have used something else.”  Then it turned into, “hey dude, I’ve got this idea for a fic but I don’t know exactly where I want to go with it yet, can I bounce some ideas off you?” And then it becomes more of a collaborative relationship where the beta is like, “yeah yeah go ahead, bounce those ideas off me, that’s a good idea,” or “hey did you ever think what would happen if you had them be their uncle’s father’s sister,” [laughter] or something like that, “but what would happen if the mother suddenly showed up?” Kind of like throwing out ideas, not exactly like that but you know what I’m saying.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, that was the telenovela fanfiction.  [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly.  [laughter] The _ Chinatown _ fanfiction.  “She’s my daughter, she’s my sister, she’s my daughter and my sister.”  Oh man. For those of you who haven’t seen  _ Chinatown _ check that movie out, it’s a classic.

 

LARAGH : It was also referenced on RuPaul recently, so the gays might know it from there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice, good call, keeping up on the old ancient pop culture.  So you’ve got, like we said, the Smurf-type beta where it’s very much a collaboration, two people with their hands in the pot at the same time and stirring it around and trying to create the story together.  We have one who is doing all the writing and the other who is helping with research and story development and idea bouncing. And then you’ve got the extreme opposite of that like the Newt/Vythian relationship where you have them just coming in and just double checking spelling, punctuation, grammar.  And then you have the middle road, and the perfect example of a middle road beta I think would be Luckywantstoknow. Lucky is an incredibly prolific author in their own right and they are also a fantastic and very busy beta and they really do kind of walk that center line where you can use them to bounce ideas off of but really they want you to kind of start writing and really get in and flesh out as much of the story as you can and then they will come in and check for continuity, does it make sense, is everything spelled okay, are you going crazy with the punctuation, are these the right words that you meant to use.  But they’re not making any commentary on the story itself. The story is the author’s own, it’s their brainchild, it’s their headcanon, and Lucky is just there to make sure the story the author wants to tell is getting told. So these are kind of like your three families of beta there.

 

LARAGH : And I think it’s really important as well that people know they can choose what they need from a beta, and hopefully they can find someone who is willing to do that as well.  It’s really important that people seek out what they require for their writing so you know if you’re writing on a sensitive subject you may want to consult someone who knows about that subject, if you’re writing about a country you have never been to you might want to consult someone who knows that country, or has been to that country, or speaks that language.  I think you can have a beta... I think a beta can only enhance your work, so don’t be afraid to put it out there.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and another thing I think that is important about betas is that you have to develop a relationship with them as an author.  When you first start out and you’re seeking a beta and you go onto twitter and go, “hey, I’m looking for a beta for this Wayhaught story that I’m writing, I’m a first time author, or hey I’ve been writing for a while and I’ve never had a beta before.”  You have to show up with your story, ready to go. You have to know what you want when you start off. Because if you reach out into the fanfic world and go, “hey, so I’d like to write, but I kind of have an idea, but I don’t really know, does anyone want to work with me on this?”, that’s maybe not the best way to start off an author/beta relationship.

 

LARAGH : No.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because the type of relationship Pirate and Smurf have, that’s developed over many years of working together to get to the point where it is.

 

LARAGH : And also they can be based on friendship relationships as well.  

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah, absolutely.  We have beta-ed each other’s works and done a horrible job of beta-ing your work because historically I have missed pretty big mistakes.  [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Just the wrong name, no big deal. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Wrong name for the wrong show.  Not even the right show. The only leg I have to stand on there is that both their names start with a W.  

 

LARAGH: And that was the reason clearly that I wrote it as well like that.

 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, exactly, so.  I’ll never live that down, mostly because I won’t let myself.  Again, a beta can just be a buddy you ask, “can you look this through?”

 

LARAGH : Yeah, when I was writing _ Peaceful Feeling _ we were just talking one day on messenger, I don’t even think we were talking about the fic really, we were just saying, “wouldn’t it be funny if this happened,” and like, “oh actually, yeah okay I’m going to write that in.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.  Thus the great thermos escapade of 2016 was born.

 

LARAGH : God, was it that long ago?

 

DARKWICCAN : 2017? Yeah.

 

LARAGH : Oh, okay.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, I mean and I just thought that was so sweet of you to include my whacky idea.  And sometimes that’s what beta work is too. So beta-ing, beta work, has a whole… multiple dimensions and facets of what it can be.  We’ve talked kind of… well, we need a beta for this episode is what we need.

 

LARAGH : Where’s Delayne?

 

DARKWICCAN : Right?  Oh my god, where is Delayne.  She’s moving, is what’s going on right now.  But you know we’ve talked all over the place, we’ve been a bit all over the place talking about what betas are and we’ve talked about three specific types of betas with these three individuals, Smurf, Lucky and Newt, and how they approach the art of beta work, because it is an art form.  It is a skill. It’s a craft. You don’t suddenly become the world’s greatest beta just because you have an english degree or something, or you took a creative writing course that one time. It’s like being a… I’m going to put this is theatrical terms so bear with me. It can be as technical as a stage manager’s job, where a stage manager’s job is just to follow along and make sure everything happens when it’s supposed to happen and nothing’s out of place.  And it can be as involved as a director, well maybe an assistant director because the director’s really the writer. It can be as involved as an assistant director to the point where they have an influence over the work, the art work itself. So these are skills that you develop and you learn as you work with authors as a beta, and the more that you do it the better you get at it, just like anything.

 

LARAGH : And I think that probably goes in reverse as well, as the more you work with a beta the more comfortable you are with a critique or, you know, to pull you up in a certain way.  Because that can be hard at first, it’s like a skill in itself learning to accept critique, or learning to accept suggestions. But I think that it’s something that can be built and I think that it’s great when you get to a point when almost any relationship where a person can say, “hey, that was not your best work, how can we make this better?”  And then you do.

 

DARKWICCAN : And it’s so important that betas learn how to walk that line and understand that line of constructive helpful criticism versus just negging on something.  

 

LARAGH : And sometimes that can be different for different people as well, that line.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it absolutely is.  You know, there are some authors and betas who can be really snarky with each other and that’s their love language right?

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And then there are other authors and betas where the betas are a bit of a soft touch, wearing the kid gloves, it’s all about the authors… you know, the author does have an ego, they’re putting their baby out there, the first person to hold their baby will be their beta, so you know, that can be nerve-wracking and terrifying.  Just as scary as posting it online at all. You know, it’s the first set of eyes that you’re showing your child, “look at this thing I made, isn’t it amazing? I hope.” You know, it would be really crappy if the person you handed it to went back and said, “it’s kind of funny looking.” 

 

LARAGH : What a horrible thing to say about any living thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right?  Even if they were to say “it’s kind of funny looking, but I like it.”  It might be a little harsh. Yeah, but it’s not just knowing the rules of the… if you’re writing in english it’s not just the rules of “Strunk and White” right?  It’s also being able to communicate in a way that is helpful, not harmful.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, I agree.

 

DARKWICCAN : Betas man, betas are freaking awesome.

 

LARAGH : You can learn so many life skills from writing fan fiction, who knew?

 

DARKWICCAN : Who knew? Right?

 

LARAGH : Well, we did obviously, that’s why you made a podcast about it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because I’m here to promote not just good fic, but beta work as well.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.  I think it would be great if it was just accepted… it should be normalized, it shouldn’t be seen in any way… normalize it, that’s all I wanted to say, normalize beta readers.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and again, if you’re an author, a fanfic author, and you don’t have a beta reader, that’s fine.  That’s fine. But if you find yourself kind of reaching a plateau as a writer and you want to go beyond that, find a beta reader.  They will help you breach that ceiling and move on and just continue to improve as an author.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I think that we have praised beta readers to the high heavens as much as we possibly can between the two of us for the past twenty-ish minutes or so.  What say we sit down with some genuine beta readers. 

 

LARAGH : That sounds just swell DW.

 

DARKWICCAN : Doesn’t it sound keen?

 

LARAGH : Peachy. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright, well let’s do that by gum.  That’s right, we’re gonna sit down with actually the three beta readers we used as examples in this first segment.  We’re gonna chat with Smurf, Lucky and Newt all at once in a lovely little beta reader round table that I like to call “BetaMAX.”

 

LARAGH : BetaMAX.

 

DARKWICCAN : Which, any of you from the late seventies and early eighties will hopefully get that joke, everybody else I’m sorry.

 

LARAGH : I had to look it up.

 

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT.]

  
  
  


MUSIC: Starjump by Lena Raine

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everyone and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me is my delightful co-host...

 

LARAGH : Hey, it’s Laragh.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are super excited to have with us today, a panel of incredible betas.  This is a coup my friends, this is the largest group we’ve ever had on the podcast and I am so incredibly super psyched to pick their brains on the art and the craft of beta reading.  We have the wonderful Smurf.

 

SMURF: Hello

 

DARKWICCAN : The incredible Lucky.

 

LUCKY : Hey there. 

 

DARKWICCAN : And the inimitable Newt.

 

NEWT : Hey all. 

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you guys so much for coming on the show today to speak with us.

 

LUCKY : Happy to be here.

 

SMURF: This’ll be interesting.

 

DARKWICCAN : It will be interesting, as I said this is the largest group we’ve ever had so it’s going to be fun to see how we navigate all not talking on top of each other.

 

NEWT:  See I think we’re all afraid to say anything because we don’t want to talk over anybody else.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s okay.  The magic of editing will remove all these awkward pauses.

 

LUCKY : Thank goodness for that.  If only we had that in real life.

 

DARKWICCAN : That would be incredible.

 

SMURF: That would be excellent.

 

DARKWICCAN : Definitely take a lot of the guesswork out of conversation right?

 

LUCKY : Totally.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, since we have so many of you here why don’t we go ahead and dive into our little roundtable discussion and chat about the art of beta work.  So Laragh why don’t you kick us off.

 

LARAGH : So my question is for the three of you.  What was the first project you ever worked on as a beta.

 

DARKWICCAN : Go ahead Newt.

 

NEWT: I was actually trying to remember this.  So the first project I ever worked on as a beta I think was actually fifteen plus years ago when I was first getting into fan fiction.  And it would have been for somebody who was writing on Kennedyfanfic.com, which was Buffy fanfic post season seven. And I honestly can’t remember the name of the story or what it had even been about but I do recall going through and editing somebody's word document being sent to me.

 

DARKWICCAN : So your first story that you ever beta-ed was a Kennedy story from Buffy the Vampire Slayer?   

 

NEWT: Yes [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s... ha, hmm. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : I don’t know how I feel about that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Wow, that’s... daring.

 

NEWT: That’ll be a little bit of controversial but you know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Way to break out with controversy right off the bat.  Jeez. Lucky, how about you?

 

LUCKY : Ah yeah, so I’m probably the freshest oldest beta in this group maybe?  The first project I worked on was a  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction, just started reading it and just fell into a really sweet Wayhaught fic that’s actually currently getting a sequel written.  It’s JNSBeth’s  _ Couldn’t Help Falling For You _ .  And it was just soft and easy and sexy and just what I was looking for in fanfiction and right about halfway through her beta had to back out so I applied for that job.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice, so, easy soft and sexy is pretty much the pinnacle of Wayhaught story writing.

 

LUCKY : Yeah, I mean, I definitely taken some other paths in Wayhaught fiction now, a lot of different ones... 

 

DARKWICCAN : But what a great way to start off.

 

LUCKY : Yeah, it was a great story to find. 

 

DARKWICCAN : So Smurf, what about you?

 

SMURF : Well, I’m a bit like with Newt.  I first started, probably, gosh, twelve or fifteen years ago, way back when, and to be honest I don’t really remember much about that because I was working with a couple of people who were doing things like  _ Women’s Murder Club _ and  _ Criminal Minds _ at the time.  But then I fell out of fandom for a long time, I was away from all of it.  The thing that got me back into beta-ing we’ll say, is  _ Wynonna Earp _ , and the first project I ever worked on for that was  _ Lucky Dutch _ by Isawet, that was the Hogwarts fic we did together.  I think I’ve mentioned on here before that  _ Small Town Gun _ was the first fanfic I ever read for this fandom so I really loved it so much and I was already fangirling pretty hard over her and her amazing writing, and when I read the first chapter of  _ Lucky Dutch _ and saw her note that she didn’t have a beta and would like to have one if anybody was interested I kind of lost my shit a little bit.  And it took me a couple of days to work up the nerve to contact her but eventually I did and we became partners and finished working on that fic together and the rest is history, I’ve been doing beta for this fandom ever since. 

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, and Smurf, both you and Lucky I think are the most prolific known betas within the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom and I’m kind of jealous that you’ve got to see some of the top fics produced for this Wayhaught fandom especially before anyone else does.  So that is one definite perk to being a beta. 

 

SMURF : Ah yes, the behind the scenes look. 

 

DARKWICCAN : Behind the scenes, the secret squirrel discussions, very jealous of you guys there.  So Newt, you’ve been at this about fifteen years you said, across different fandoms, that is super dooper impressive.  I’m curious since you’ve been doing this for a while, what is your greatest pet peeve as a beta.

 

NEWT : Ah, so this actually… hmm.  My greatest pet peeve as a beta is probably overuse of the word or the verb “said”, particularly without adverbs, or just go pick up a thesaurus you know.  Just because it, I don’t know, it’s overdone, you can do more interesting things with surrounding dialogue and yeah, use an adverb every now and then.

 

DARKWICCAN : So you’re saying that if a writer is using the word “said” to describe someone speaking they should at least throw a descriptive adverb in there once in a while, like, “she said cunningly” or something like that.

 

NEWT : Yeah, there are always more interesting ways.  Everyone speaks differently and when it’s just like, “this is what she said, and he said, and this, and this is what they said.”  It gets a little humdrum 

 

DARKWICCAN : Anyone else have a little pet peeve that when they’re reading through a rough draft it kind of raises their hackles a little bit?

 

SMURF : Oh yes.  The commas are… let me tell you this, I do a lot of beta work, like a lot, several several hours a week and I would say that 87.439 percent of the work that I do is fixing commas.  

 

NEWT :  That’s very specific.

 

SMURF:  I’m not even joking.  I mean, there’s a lot more to beta work than just that, it’s helping people with their stories but when it comes to the actual technical part of the job of being a beta, where I’m actually fixing mistakes, I would say that the vast majority of the work that I do is placing commas because people really don’t know how they’re supposed to work.  But that’s okay, I don’t mind, I would rather fix it and have it be right than get into those stories where everything is just a run on sentence, or where you have somebody trying to use seventeen commas in one sentence instead of breaking it up or using a semicolon. So there’s kind of an extreme on both sides and I generally try to bring my people into a happy medium, in the middle. 

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s good.  That’s very wise and fair of you.

 

LUCKY? : I think for me I kind of get hung up on sentence structure.  I read a lot, not just fanfiction but actual books made out of paper and it’s almost like when I’m reading I’m reading out loud in my head to myself and when a sentence just doesn’t flow that’s the kind of thing that I hang onto and so by no means am I a perfect writer, and I’m not a professional editor, but that’s the kind of stuff I find myself I think fixing the most.

 

DARKWICCAN : Gotcha, yeah.  Newt, did you have a thought?

 

NEWT : I was just going to ask a controversial question.  I was just wondering people’s thoughts on the oxford comma?

 

LUCKY: I love the oxford comma.

 

SMURF: Give me the oxford comma or give me death.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

NEWT : Okay, so we’re all on the same page then.

 

SMURF: You can pry that oxford comma from my cold, dead, stiff hands.

 

DARKWICCAN : Okay, so not as controversial as you were hoping there.

 

NEWT : I throw a lot of oxford commas in and sometimes they get rejected and I just have to live with that.

 

LARAGH : Okay so you guys, you kind of mentioned both technical writing and story planning, but when you’re beta-ing a fic which do you prefer to help with.  Which is your preferred… which do you prefer to do? Help with technical writing or story planning?

 

DARKWICCAN : Lucky?  Go for it.

 

LUCKY : Yeah, I can address that a little bit.  Honestly, I love story planning, that’s a little selfish to say I think.  And it doesn’t mean to say that I get to have a huge amount of input into the plot of the story necessarily.  I just really like working with writers who will trust my input enough to ask for whatever they want when they need it.  For example if they have an idea for a story they want to talk about different directions, it might take, or if they’re just stuck somewhere and they want to talk it out with someone that’s really fun for me.  I mean for the most part I’m fortunate enough to work with authors who I got to read before I started to beta for them so I have an idea of what to expect when I go into it, and we talk about expectations ahead of time together but the technical aspect stuff is just the cherry on the top for me for getting to read something that I think reads well.  You know, one thing about fan fiction is because of that I’ve gotten the opportunity to beta and edit some original work, and that’s more story planning stuff and makes it more exciting and fun for me. 

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s really nifty.  Smurf?

 

SMURF : Um, for me the technical writing, it’s extremely important, not just the commas of course but also the essential writing conventions and the mechanics and making sure the punctuation around dialogue is right and all that.  And you know I take my role as the grammar police really seriously, it’s important to me and I feel like it’s an important responsibility. But that’s more of the work mode type of the situation for me, that’s like the work side of it.  So if we’re talking about the fun of it then it’s all about the world building and plotting, you know, establishing the history, or the mythology of the world, finding the roles that the characters we love fit into it. You know, trying to determine how to bring all that together to tell the story that the author is seeing in their mind, you know, how to make it all fit together just right.  As a seasoned DM for  _ Dungeons & Dragons _ I’ve been building worlds for over twenty years now, it’s just kind of what I do in my free time so it’s truly one of my favorite things when I’m working with an author and I get to help teach them how to do it.  How to build a world from scratch and do it well and bring all of the things in, because you know a lot of times the people will come up with an idea for an AU and they’ll jump right into it and they don’t stop to think about all of the different facets of a world that really have to match up and line up.  If you’re going to have rules for the way magic works or something, you have to make sure that it stays consistent throughout, you can’t just suddenly change the rules when you feel like it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Cough cough

 

SMURF: It has to be consistent.  

 

DARKWICCAN : Cough cough, George Lucas, cough cough.

 

SMURF : Yeah there are some professionals out there that do that too.  But you know what I mean though. Building a world, it encompasses a lot, and sometimes people don’t think about all of the extra parts that comes with that and so it’s kind of one of my favorite things to sort of take a new author that’s just learning how to do that and really teach them how to bring it all together because then when you get to see the finished product, it’s really exciting and you really feel proud of it.  I do like both parts, I’ve always enjoyed being the proofreader side of things too, just to help people sharpen up their writing and clean it up and polish it just a little bit. But I really love the story planning and the world building.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice.  Newt, how about you?

 

NEWT : See Smurf had a much more eloquent and productive way of saying, “story planning is great.”  But yeah, I mean, story planning is definitely more enjoyable to me, the technical writing aspect just comes from years in academia and being used to editing people’s papers.  But with regards to story planning I think hearing ideas, helping the writer run with them, and usually when I’m doing that it’s usually just much more backstory head canon. But it’s a lot like just exploring their world together and fleshing it out.  You know maybe things that never come to light in the actual writing but that helps the writer understand their characters better. Just discovering those new things and those stories about their characters, so just fleshing that out. And it’s kind of fun for me just to, “oh, this is how I think it would be,” and just having the nerdy excited moment, “oh yeah, that’s so amazing, and yeah that’s awesome” part of story planning.  “Yeah, that’s such a great idea” and really building off that excitement with the writer and trying to figure out where things are going to go.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely.  So that actually brings up my next question.  So Lucky I’m going to address this to you but really it’s going to be for everybody, Lucky let’s start off with you here.  In your opinion what’s the most important thing a beta must keep in mind before they sit down to edit an author’s work?

 

LUCKY : A hundred percent for me the most important thing is that at the end of the day the story really belongs to the writer, and again I mean, I said this in the last question, obviously I’ve had the good fortune with most of the people I’m working with them in advance, or to have discussed our expectations ahead of time so I know generally where the story’s going to go, how it fits into canon and whether or not it does and so on, if it’s an AU.  But really my job is just to be there for what the author needs, not for what I want to see. You know I have no problem telling a writer if I think their characters seem out of character and why, and I have no problem telling a writer if I think they’re getting tangential and it just makes no sense. But yeah, I mean the story is theirs not mine, so let’s just try to have fun making it really good or at least the best thing it can possibly be.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, a quick follow up to that, what then… how do you handle, or manage, taking your own personal headcanons and setting them aside when you go in to edit something.  

 

LUCKY : You know, that’s really hard, because I think that people see, I think that there are some fundamental core characteristics that most of us will agree apply to the characters, specifically we’re talking about  _ Wynonna Earp _ in this case.  But there are some people that have, lean maybe more strongly toward one character or another and spend a long time in their mind thinking about that one character and what they’re like.  What I try to do is just, first of all obviously put aside my own personal headcanons, although I’m certainly not going to not explain to them why I think maybe they want to have a character leaning more or less one way or another.  But also try to help them have the rest of the characters be as well rounded as maybe the one they’re leaning towards, and maybe have everybody in the fiction try to be a whole person, if that makes sense?

 

DARKWICCAN : Never leave a character behind.

 

LUCKY : Exactly, and again there are some things that are just out of character and I’ll say that this doesn’t sound like our characters.  And if they want to carry on that way, and I’ve fortunately not had this experience yet, because like I said I’m familiar with the people I’m working with for the most part, but if that comes up early on I don’t have a problem saying I don’t think this is something I want to work on.

 

DARKWICCAN : Newt?

 

NEWT : I think one of the most important things to keep in mind before going into beta-ing for anybody, is having that discussion of what they’re looking for, what the writer is looking for.  After having that discussion of, “I don’t really want or need your help with story ideas, I just want you to polish my writing,” or, “I’m totally open to you helping me run with these things and make it more collaborative.”  And starting with that I think keeping that in mind, as Lucky said it is hard to keep your own headcanons out of the game and I think of course it very much depends on the writer with whom you’re working, and trying to figure out what do I need to do for this particular writer for this specific story in order to make it the best that it can be.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, and I mean, surely there are going to be writers that you work with that are going to be on the same page as you, headcanon-ly? Headcanonically? [laughter] So that I’m sure creates a far more collaborative and cohesive sort of relationship when you’re story building, world building or sitting down to write an outline kind of what direction a piece is going in.  Especially if that author is going, “hey yeah I really want you to help me spitball this and shape this whole scenario, I’ve got this one scene in my head that I just know can branch off into this incredible story but I don’t know how to do that, please help me.”

 

LARAGH : So do you guys use betas in your own writing?

 

SMURF : Funny thing about that, when you’re the one who has to put the commas in everyone else’s work there’s not really anyone else left out there to put the commas in your work.  So, joking aside though, I will say this, I may not have the same beta that functions in the same capacity that we do with the checking for grammar and all of that because I pretty much have to do that for myself.  I do have a very short list group of fellow authors that are also extremely good friends that I discuss my projects with, and I have them read over my work as I go so that they can give me feedback on things like how a scene feels or if the dialogue flows smoothly or if I’m getting off the point a little bit, and I’d like to give a special shout out to FlyingFanatic and Beelikebumblebee for all of the above and beyond love and support that they’ve given me in my writing projects.  Because many of my fics, both my current and future ones that I’m working on, wouldn’t exist without one or the other of them, and sometimes both. And knowing that I’ve got them for a sounding board for all of my out of the blue AU ideas is a large part of the motivation that I have to keep working. It’s a little different to having the kind of beta that we all do, but I still consider them my betas because they all let me talk my shit out with them, you know when I’m panicking about, “this doesn’t feel right,” or, “can you read this scene and tell me what feels off.”  And they’re all really good about helping me hammer out my problems so it’s all smoother if you know what I mean. And so, I think every author needs that, even if they don’t have somebody literally going over it with a red pen marking periods and commas you still need somebody to just be able to talk things out with. It’s important, it helps you to get past the points where you’re stuck and it helps with motivation and encouragement and definitely a good thing if you can find somebody out there to at least let you bounce things off of. It helps a lot with your productivity. 

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh yeah, absolutely, you can only talk to yourself so much right?

 

SMURF : Exactly.  Sometimes it feels like you’re having a conversation with the characters, because you’re arguing with them, your trying to write them to do one thing and they keep trying to tell you to do something else and you’re having an argument with your own work and it works better if you have someone who can actually [inaudible].

 

DARKWICCAN : Certainly makes you look a little less insane.  

 

SMURF : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Newt, how about you?  When you’re writing do you have someone you like to bounce ideas off of or give your work a once over before you post it?

 

NEWT : Yeah, so I guess my relationship with folks I consider betas for me is similar to Smurf’s.  I’m not usually looking for somebody to look over technical mistakes, I mean obviously if there are glaring mistakes point them out to me because I’m happy to see them and fix them.  But more to me a beta is a sounding board, somebody to bounce ideas off of and really just kind of spitball and throw things out there. What about this? What would you like to see? I mean a lot of my own  _ Our Family of Choice _ series is me asking people what they want to see.  And then I’m kind of talking to about that, to kind of figure out what sort of ideas are we imagining here for this particular scenario.  A little less conventional as far as betas go, but still helpful.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely.  And Lucky how about you?

 

LUCKY : Yeah, so I do, for the most part, unless it’s just one of those trashy quick things I’ve thrown together for my own amusement and then subjected the readers to via AO3.  I do. You know honestly it surprises me and really offends me how often I miss things, no matter how many times I read it through, you know, as a beta myself I’m really resistant, actually this applies in many things in my life, to acknowledging that I can do anything technically wrong.  But these things do show up and I do use my friend Comelayinmybed for almost everything recently. And then she’ll tell you I’m a huge pain in the ass to beta for, she sends me however many edits and I reject 90 percent of them with a scoff. Especially for  _ Who Wants To Live Forever _ that I’m writing right now.  On that one it got more story building and less technical, we talked through that one a lot together so long answer to a short question, yes I do, mostly.

 

DARKWICCAN : But you’re a pain in their butt.

 

LUCKY : Yes, I am.  That’s why I usually say she’s my reluctant beta.  She’s not interested in being a beta but I guess she wants to read the story ahead of time so…  you gotta pay to play right? So.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, the three of you have been doing this for some time obviously Lucky you say you are the newest to the game but you’ve definitely become one of the most prolific.  So there might be folks out there curious about how to become a beta. Maybe they are particularly good at correcting english papers and they say you know, “this is something I want to give a try.”  So Smurf, I’m going to ask you this first. What advice do you have to anyone thinking of offering beta services to fic authors.

 

SMURF : Okay, so at first I was just going to have kind of a short cute answer for this but then I started thinking about it and actually I have kind of a long answer so bear with me.  I was trying to think of a lot of things but it’s… the thing about being a beta is it’s not just about punctuation and spell check, we’ve touched on this, and author/beta relationship is a partnership and it’s important that you’re both willing to make that commitment.  So there are a lot of things that go into that before you make that commitment and you need to make sure you’re familiar with an author’s previously existing works before agreeing to beta with them because it’s important to be informed about what you’re signing up for. I think Lucky touched on that a little bit.  Are your views and understanding of the show aligned? Are you in agreement over the fundamental motivations of the characters that make them who they really are? Are you interested in the same types of stories, whether it be working within the canon of the show or genres that you would like to pursue for potential AUs?  If the answer to any of those questions is no then it’s highly likely that this match is not going to be in the best interest for either the author or you, the beta. You don’t want to constantly butt heads over things. There are also several things that you should keep in mind once you have found an author that you match well with and have taken that step to form a partnership.  First and foremost patience is the key, your author needs to feel comfortable coming to you with questions, whether they are about language and grammar and word usage or about the plot or the world that they’re building or a potential scene between characters. There has to be a level of trust there, that they know that you’ll help them through whatever it is that’s hanging them up at the moment without judgement or condescension like, “oh that was a stupid question,” you can’t be like that.  If somebody is trusting you enough to open up and ask for your opinion then you need to be willing to be patient and work through it with them. You have to stay focussed on the person that you’re working with, offering advice when it’s needed and encouragement when they’re panicking, and praise when they overcome an obstacle that’s been blocking them. Make sure when you’re going over drafts with them, this is really important, don’t only point out things that need to be fixed. Don’t only mark the errors or be like, “oh you know, this paragraph is too wordy.”  It’s just as important and often more so to point out things that you loved about what they’ve given you too. To single out a particular line that really stuck with you or a piece of dialogue that moved you in some way or a description that made you feel like you were in the story with the characters because not only does every author like to hear, “hey, you know I did that right,” but also it helps them to see which things to focus on, “okay these were things that stood out, let me try to do more of that.” And so I will say also that it’s healthy for you to be able to set boundaries too.  Pick a day, or a set of days that’s off limits for beta work, make sure your author knows up front that it’s okay for them to submit drafts to you at any time but that if it’s Friday, or whatever day you choose, you won’t be looking at it until the next day, or after the weekend, or whatever. Be sure to establish an expected turnaround time and make sure your authors know and are aware of what to expect upfront. For example, I tell my authors that I’ll try to have their work back to them within two to three days, and if it’s going to take any longer than that I’ll keep them updated along the way.  Now I mean if I don’t have anything else on my plate at the moment or my queue is pretty short then there’s many times that I’m able to get it back to them within a day. But that’s not something that I guarantee and all of my authors understand that. I also appreciate a bit of a heads up when someone is sending me something new to look over. I’m not really a fan of people just dropping a link to a google doc in my chat with no preface or explanation and then expecting me to get right on it. I’ve had a couple of people do that and I’ve had to dissolve a couple of partnerships over things like that where the author didn’t respect my time or boundaries.  And just the same as you need to respect your author they need to respect you too, because it’s your time that you’re putting into this, especially if you’re a beta like we are that have more than one author, or quite a few authors really. Sometimes you have kind of a queue lining up, it stacks up and you need to make sure that you’re keeping yourself healthy too, don’t let yourself get overworked because then that’s going to show through in the work that you are doing with your author. But above all I think the biggest thing that you have to remember is it’s not your job to make their piece of writing better. It’s your job to understand what they’re trying to achieve and help them achieve it.  Being a beta isn’t about trying to superimpose your own vision onto another author’s work, it’s about helping that author to reach their full potential in their own right. So as we mentioned before, sometimes you have to set aside your own headcanon, or you have to set aside your own, “oh I really wish you would have taken the story in this direction.” You have to remember this isn’t your work, it’s their work, and your job is to help them achieve the vision that they have for it. So that’s the entire basis, the entire foundation, to my approach to beta-ing and if I could only ever give one single piece of advice to other betas that would be it every time.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So that whole chunk?  That would be it? Or just that last little bit, talking about how?

 

SMURF : Well, all of it is important, but if you could only give one piece of advice that last bit, it’s not your job to make them better, it’s your job to help them achieve their goals.  Not to put your own vision and your own desires onto another author’s work, it’s about helping that author reach their full potential. So if I could only give one piece of advice it would be that.  Try to base your entire strategy off of that key foundation, you know, you are there to help them, they’re not there to serve you, you are there to help them to grow and reach their potential.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome.  Lucky, Newt, do either of you have anything to add to that?  I mean that was pretty comprehensive.

 

NEWT : I don’t think I have anything to add to that.

 

LUCKY : Well, I never shut up, you can always cut this out, but there’s always going to be people who are looking for a beta, I see it all the time on AO3 in the notes.  And for people who are interested in becoming a beta, don’t be afraid to offer to do that, but then again the authors are going to want to know what you bring to them, technically and otherwise.  And also don’t be afraid to ask authors that you like reading if they’re looking for a beta because you never know where that will bring you. And of course lay out your expectations well in advance so that nobody is left feeling hurt from the experience.

 

DARKWICCAN : Excellent advice all of you.  Well, guys this has been amazing, first of all.  I’m just thrilled that we were able to get five of us in this chat room to talk. [laughter] And it has been fascinating listening to each of you chat about your opinions and approaches to the craft of beta work and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that y’all made time out of your very busy schedules both work, life and beta work, to sit down with us this morning and talk about this.  But of course as you know we have a final question here on the show, and we can’t ask you the final question we typically ask because you’ve all been on the show before and we’ve gotten your desert island fic answers from you in the past. As well as Smurf we had to come up with a unique question for you the last time you were on. So we had to come up with another unique final question and I am going to turn this over to my buddy Laragh to ask.

 

LARAGH : Okay, name a fic fandom other than Wynonna or for Wayhaught, that you might not necessarily be inspired to write for but that you would want to beta for and haven’t already.

 

DARKWICCAN : Lucky, how about you?

 

LUCKY : Oh no, dang it, I was hoping you would pick me last.  No, I’ll just get it out of the way. This is a really hard question because honestly I came in to this work and this fandom because it really spoke to me, and nothing really has like that.  But my, this is so embarrassing but people who know me know this, my one true love is Star Trek: The Original Series, so there I’ve said it, Star Trek: The Original Series.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s great.  Smurf?

 

SMURF : This was a tough question for me because I make it clear in all my FAQs that I only read, write or beta strictly for  _ Wynonna Earp _ and Wayhaught.  Partially because I don’t have enough time to beta for a bunch of other fandoms on top of what I do for this one, but also because like Lucky just said this particular show and these particular characters are kind of what inspire me so it’s kind of where I want to spend my time and energy.  But that being said one of my best friends is working on a SwanQueen fic, which is a pairing that I definitely shipped when I was watching the show although I was never really in the fandom per se like I never read or wrote any fic for it or anything. But I’m happy to say that I’m going to be her beta for that fic so that will definitely be a new experience for me and a fun challenge that I’m looking forward to as something new.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright Newt, you’re up.

 

NEWT : Ah, can I name an author, and not a fandom?

 

DARKWICCAN : [long suffering sigh] I suppose.

 

NEWT : So, Lynne Arlington is somebody whose work I’ve been reading for years, across fandoms, from _Glee_ to _Supergirl_.  I think I actually read a _Criminal_ _Minds_ piece from them ages ago.  But I mean typically all fandoms, besides _Glee_ as I mentioned before, that I haven't written in and I probably won’t write in but enjoy reading nonetheless.  So I think I really admire their work and would try out any fandom for that author.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alrighty, very cool.  So thank you so much everybody for coming on today to talk to us.  This has been a unique and fun experience.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, thank you guys it’s been great.

 

[General noise of agreement from the betas]

 

And that'S all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.

 

Tremendous thanks to LuckyWantsToKnow, Newt and TheGaySmurf for taking time to chat with us about the art of Beta Reading

  
  


Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro. 

 

Background music for the episode was:

 

A Proper Story  by Darren Korb

 

Inkwell Isle One (Piano) BY Kristoffer Maddigan

 

Starjump BY Lena Raine

 

and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

  
  


If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. 

 

And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.

 

And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

  
  


Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	23. Who Are You?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week DW and Laragh try to remember their favorite Amnesia AUs! Then they sit down with author isawet to chat for some reason... if they think hard enough they might recall enough to ask about her memory loss story...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/who-are-you)

 

Read the Fics!

[forget-me-not by earpslgbt](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17316812/)

 

['Remember Me' by 4theloveofWayhaught](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16698151)

 

[never gonna be the same by isawet](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10216697)

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://efapodcast.com/youareavision.tumblr.com)

 

Transcript by MrsBlueBacon

 

EFA Episode 223- Who Are You

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is my, uh, cohost, um, gosh, I’m sorry. What’s your name? I can’t remember your name. What’s your name?

 

LARAGH : It starts with an L.

 

DARKWICCAN : It starts with an L.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : L...L...L [unintelligible]. Uh, help me out here.

 

LARAGH : It’s Laragh. I’m just gonna give it to you.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s Laragh.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s Laragh. Sorry, I don’t know what’s going on with my memory these days. Just a sieve. Ya know, the thoughts just go right through.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, it’s a wonder I even remember my own name. Wait...

 

LARAGH : It’s DW.

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you. Thank you. Ok.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Whew.

 

LARAGH : It’s only two letters.

 

DARKWICCAN : I wonder if our listeners can guess what the subject, the topic of our episode is today.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Mmm, I wonder. Now, I’ve forgotten.

 

DARKWICCAN : You’ve forgotten? Oh, geez. Well.

 

LARAGH : I’ve forgotten. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’ve forgotten, too. Um, ok, hang on a second, let me just take a look at my notes here. [pretending to read notes in a barely audible manner] Oh, I, it’s amnesia.

 

LARAGH : Amnesia.

 

DARKWICCAN : Amnesia, that’s right. We’re talking...

 

LARAGH : I can’t believe I forgot.

 

DARKWICCAN : I can’t believe I...right? It makes sense though.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Alright, alright, alright, alright.

 

LARAGH : Alright, we give it up. We’re sorry for subjecting you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, that’s actually...sorry for that everybody. We had to get that out of our systems, uh, so yes, this week we’re talking about fics that embrace that most soapy of tropes, the amnesia storyline. Before we do that...

 

LARAGH : Oh, I love it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, right. I know. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Mmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Takes me back to the days of  _ Passions _ and  _ All My Children _ . [CONTENT CENSORED. SEE EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT] Y ou’re going to ClexaCon, dude, yay!! I get to put my...

 

LARAGH : Yay.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...arms around you and hug you. I’m so excited. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, but if, if you can’t or you’re not inclined to support the podcast monetarily, that is completely and totally fine. Uh, we accept all forms of love.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Just listening to the show is awesome, telling your friends about it is amazing, following us on Twitter, uh, ya know, interacting with us on Facebook. All of these things are amazing and wonderful and we are completely grateful for every form of support that comes our way.

 

LARAGH : Yes, we are validation whores.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, we are. Please validate us. [stated in an overly dramatic way] Please! I need to know that what I’m doing is meaningful. [laughter] Oh, so, I did something very memento-y, Laragh.

 

LARAGH : Oh, oh really.

 

DARKWICCAN : Speaking of memory loss. Yeah, yeah, I did. Yes. I made a temporary bad decision.

 

LARAGH : Oh. How exciting. You, you, you don’t usually make those. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I know. Well, it is temporary, so this is not a paid sponsorship, you guys, this is just me being a total dork. I went to Inkbox dot com. Ya know, where you can get those temporary tattoos made and stuff?

 

LARAGH : Yeah. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And I had a temporary tattoo made of the E F A logo that was designed by our amazing khevzs [twitter handle], uh, so I’m gonna have that on my body at ClexaCon, so I’m very excited about this.

 

LARAGH : Agh. That is amazing.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, depending on how much, if I like it, I might make it a permanent bad decision, but...

 

LARAGH : Oh, really? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...right now. Possibly, possibly. It’s a lot of black, I don’t know. We’ll see. [laughter] I tend towards, my tattoos are all very colorful. This is the first time I’m doing anything black or grey scale, so.

 

LARAGH : Ok, interesting.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, we’ll see how I feel about it.

 

LARAGH : It’s a good idea though, to get a temporary tattoo before you get a real one, isn’t it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely.

 

LARAGH : More people should do that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : I had to have one of my tattoos covered up at eighteen, so I’m very familiar with uh, [laughter] with...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yes. They can [unintelligible] bad decision. 

 

LARAGH : ...this concept of making a bad decision. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, let’s take our bad decisions and put them in the past, let’s forget about them. Hey-o. Because we are gonna talk about amnesia fics. Woohoo. I did not forget why we are here.

 

LARAGH : Eventually. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : This, now, we haven’t used this format in a little while. Which is the four fic format, where we talk about four fics on a similar theme um, and then end up chatting with the author of uh, typically the last one we talk about.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, we’re shaking up the format in that we walked away from this one for a little bit, and now we’re back. So, Laragh, between last week’s episode and this week’s episode, you just come in and shake things up, man.

 

LARAGH : I, that’s just my style.

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re a rebel. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] I’m a rebel with a fanfiction cause.

 

DARKWICCAN : There you go. [laughter] So, that’s what we’re doing today, talking about four fics uh, that all deal with amnesia, a character losing their memory. And I think in every single one of them it’s Waverly.

 

LARAGH : Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yep, poor Waverly. Cannot keep a thought in her head, apparently.

 

LARAGH : Yeah. It’s one of those fanon [fandom canon] things, isn’t it. That just suddenly becomes part of the accepted.

 

DARKWICCAN : It kind of, isn’t that weird, how that happens? And as you say, fanon.

 

LARAGH : Yeah. It happens in every fandom.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

LARAGH : It happens in every single fandom. So, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, apparently, despite the fact that Waverly, sorry, despite the fact that Nicole is the most accident prone, Waverly, apparently, is the one prone to amnesia, so yeah, all four fics today have Waverly as the amnesiac. Uh, so, why don’t you kick us off with the first on our list.

 

LARAGH : So, the first on our list is “forget-me-not” by earpslgbt.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ah, yes.

 

LARAGH : And it is, yes. It is about Waverly returning from the garden having forgotten Nicole, and quite a bit of her life. And it’s them trying to work their way back to each other with obstacles in the way in both physical and personal. And, perhaps people who try to get in the way of them.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

LARAGH : Um, and, it’s, ya know, there’s some WynHaught in there, which is always good.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Gotta love WynHaught.

 

LARAGH : Always a favorite, yeah. And there’s lots of pining Nicole, which again, depending on your perspective, is often a favorite.

 

DARKWICCAN : A guilty pleasure.

 

LARAGH : Guilty pleasure, yeah. Um, and yeah, so it’s really Waverly having forgotten her whole life and learning about her life and how Nicole fits in it, and how they can fit back with each other.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, uh, this is a work in progress.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s only three chapters in at this point.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : I will say, the idea behind the storytelling here is a good idea and the author is doing a generally good job of communicating their, ya know, of communicating the story. This story would benefit from a beta coming in and just giving it a pass. Because there’s some spelling issues, some usage, word usage issues, some punctuation/grammar issues. Almost a little, like right on the line of what we would typically go “eh, is it something that we would recommend?” But obviously the storytelling is excellent enough that we would recommend it.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we’re talking about it on the show. But yeah, this is very early days for this story, but I really, I think they’re off, they’ve got a really strong footing in their concept.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely.

 

LARAGH : Particularly for a fic that utilizes a trope like amnesia, it can be a bit hard to differentiate yourself.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

LARAGH : But, I think that it does.

 

DARKWICCAN : It does, and I think that it’s interesting how Waverly really only remembers Wynonna.

 

LARAGH : Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : She doesn’t really remember hardly anything else, unfortunately. Does she remember?

 

LARAGH : No, she knows that Wynonna is her sister.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : Um, and she feels that bond, I suppose, but yeah, that’s pretty much, that’s pretty much it, that’s all she remembers.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, she doesn’t even remember the town. Like she’ll get flashes of memory.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : But she really doesn’t, I mean she’s like completely [whoosh sound] clean slated.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. But this is uh, only three chapters in. It looks like earpslgbt is gonna be taking this in a uh, interesting direction with the introduction of an original character at the end of chapter three.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So.

 

LARAGH : I’m not sure where that’s gonna go. Whether, that’s...

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m not sure either.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, whether it’s a means to get WayHaught together or it’s an obstacle, we don’t know yet.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : We have that to look forward to.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, yes. Uh, so I, or cringe at, I don’t know. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Yeah. [laughter] I was trying to be nice.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, I think there’s something to be said for cringe fics. You’re like “oh god, this hurts me, but it hurts me so good.” kind of thing.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ‘Cause you know ultimately it’s gonna be ok.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : But yeah, so that’s “forget-me-not” by earpslgbt. Uh, so the next story that we’re gonna talk about today is a story called “I will remember you” and it is by How_About_That90. Now, similar to “forget-me-not” this is a post-Garden of Eden story where Waverly has been rescued, but she has forgotten everything. Um, I think it’s rather interesting, the way that she’s rescued. That definitely caught my attention, um, when I read...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...it I was like “oh, hello. That’s interesting.” ‘Cause we haven’t really seen that, that particular trope used yet, uh, not on the show, and I really haven’t seen it used in the storytelling of the fics and I’ve read over four thousand  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfics. So.

 

LARAGH : Damn girl. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I know [laughter]. I just can’t stop readin’ them. But uh, also similar to “forget-me-not” this is an author who is definitely sure about the story they have in mind, they’re very...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...strong in their vision uh, but uh, and they do make a note of this, in the notes for the story, I actually did read the notes this time, that English is not their first language, so they do struggle a bit with proper word usage and uh, grammar. Uh, spelling isn’t that much of an issue for them, but as far as word usage and grammar, quite a few times the wrong word pops up, and it, but it, but you know, it’s forgivable.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Especially when you take into consideration that this is not their first language they’re writing in and they don’t appear to have a beta. So, betas out there, um, if you’re listening, this is a really strong story that just needs an extra set of eyeballs on it, so if How_About_That90 would be receptive to having a beta reader look at their work, I think, ya know, maybe reach out to them and just say “hey”. Just say “hey”.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : This is a post-Garden of Eden story. Waverly seems to have mentally reset to the beginning of the series.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, she hasn’t met Nicole yet, in her mind, but she does know that Wynonna is meant to be home. She does know that um, uh, she finds out that she was right, again, for a second time, about her pressing on the whole Earp curse, that it is a real thing. So, she basically resets to right before her, her, uh, theories are confirmed, essentially.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, she gets to have that wonderful “ahahaha” thing again. And, uh, poor Nicole. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Poor Nicole really doesn’t do well in any of these.

 

DARKWICCAN : She really doesn’t.

 

LARAGH : In most of these fics.

 

DARKWICCAN : She really doesn’t, yeah. [laughter] But, of course, Nicole being Nicole, is gallant, and gentlewomanly, and chivalrous, and she’s not forcing herself back into Waverly’s life. She’s trying to be very careful and cautious, and uh, Waverly does start experiencing flashes of memory that start to connect dots for her. Um, so that she’s able to start to piece together her relationship and her feelings for Nicole, uh, this story is also a work-in-progress. We are at chapter seven of unknown. So, we don’t know how much longer it’s goin’, but I will say that things are looking fairly positive for the WayHaught angle. They’re not together yet, uh, but of course, crisis tends to draw people together, and there is a bit of a crisis in the last two chapters that causes Waverly to have another memory flash, so we’re on track. But what I really like about How_About_That90 and the way that they’re writing this story, is it’s not a quick fix. This is...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...definitely something that they are putting the effort in to honoring the amount of time it would take for two people to find each other again. Especially one that’s dealing with a traumatic brain injury, so it’s, it’s a really, it’s a good read, again, they’re, English is not this writer’s first language so you have to be forgiving, as you read, and come across words that you’re like “that’s not the right word”, but you know what they mean. So just give that to them and, and keep going. And I think you’ll really enjoy this one. So that’s “I will remember you” by How_About_That90.

 

LARAGH : Nice. So, the next fic we’re going to discuss is “Remember Me” by 4theloveofWayhaught. Which is a username and also a sentiment.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] So, I like that in a username, when it doubles up, and this, this is probably the most unique, um, fic, of all the ones we’re discussing.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yes.

 

LARAGH : Um, it is a  _ 50 First Dates _ AU, but gay, as the author describes it. If you add “but gay” to anything, I’ll read it. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : And, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s just so funny. It’s um, it’s, it’s, it’s about amnesiac Waverly and a marine biologist Nicole, and if you’ve seen the movie, you will know the plot. If you haven’t seen the movie, um, it’s, it’s, it’s about how Waverly had an accident and has short-term memory loss and that her memory resets every night, so she forgets everything that has happened during the day, every night. And she just relives the same day over and over and over again.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

LARAGH : Um, and Nicole, so this basically gives us an opportunity for Nicole to woo her over and over and over again. Um, and yeah, it’s just, it’s very funny. They definitely capture the humor of the original movie. It’s funnier than the original movie, but they keep that, um, ya know, that element of it, um, and I think it’s just, it’s just such a fun read I think. It’s, Nicole is so soft and earnest and the story is so pure and funny and sweet and I just, I, I really like how they’ve taken the original source material of  _ 50 First Dates _ and they’ve made it into a  _ Wynonna Earp _ fic and they’ve included some of the original and some of  _ Wynonna Earp _ and they really just balance it so well.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it’s a tricky act, to take two existing pieces of intellectual property and meld them together successfully.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : And they’ve definitely done that here. Uh, it is really, really funny, as you said, but it’s also very earnest and, at times, a little bittersweet, and uh...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...ya know, it’s [laughter] yeah, I, it’s, it’s so much, it has improved, it would really be an improvement on the film, for no other reason, than this version is one hundred percent Adam Sandler free.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] 

 

LARAGH : Well, yes, that is a general improvement to anything.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah. Uh, but they actually just go beyond removing that troublesome element, and uh, and they’ve taken, Nicole is basically playing Adam Sandler’s character, and um, they’ve made the character even more likeable, not just because it’s Nicole. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : But they’ve made the character even more likeable and sweet and um, gentle, and uh, but also...

 

LARAGH : And Dolls is a penguin.

 

DARKWICCAN : Dolls, yes. I love...

 

LARAGH : So, there’s that.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Dolls is a penguin. Calamity Jane is a walrus.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Walrus.

 

DARKWICCAN : A walrus. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : And somehow Jeremy fits the role that he takes on of the, of the worker in the marine park worker who was like a really uptight, like, Russian or Eastern-European woman, and Jeremy...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : ...just fits into this role perfectly, and I don’t know...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : ...how they’ve done it, but they have. He just, ‘cause they used like the same lines that this woman was using. I was like “how does that make sense for Jeremy?” but it does. It does, it’s perfect. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It does. It is absolutely perfect, yes. Uh, and I’m really curious to see, I mean, I think they’re basically just gonna follow the plot of the film and kind of...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...ya know, but that’s ok. That’s totally ok, it’s really enjoyable. This, this is to me, um, like candy.

 

LARAGH : Yes. Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. It’s sweet, it’s an indulgence, and it, might get a little...

 

LARAGH : It’s easy.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s easy, yeah, but it’s so, it’s so enjoyable.

 

LARAGH : It’s so funny.

 

DARKWICCAN : And so, definitely recommend it. Yeah.

 

LARAGH : Yes. And they make an effort to keep it authentic and everything. They use Hawaiian um, words throughout which are explained and everything, um, and I think that’s great.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. I love how each chapter title is a, um, Hawaiian word, or term.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh and I’m enjoying learning them as we go along.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Some of them I already knew, some of them I did not, and yeah, I am enjoying them a lot. Ok, so that’s “Remember Me” by 4theloveofWayhaught. Which brings us to our...

 

LARAGH : Doo, doo, doo.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...final fic today. “never gonna be the same” by isawet [pronounced i saw et]. Oh, this fic is so good. It’s only, it’s a one-shot, it’s not even four thousand words, but it, they accomplish so much in the mini...in the limited amount of time that they use. It is...

 

LARAGH : Oh, yeah. You get taken on a journey.

 

DARKWICCAN : You really do. You absolutely do. Now, this story, unlike “forget-me-not” and “I will remember you” and, of course, “Remember Me”, which is an AU  _ 50 First Dates _ , this story was written after the um, Mictian incident of season two.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, so, isawet has um, basically taken that scenario and had Nicole not be around when everything kind of goes down in the end, with Mictian and Wynonna in the barn.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, also, has the fact that Mictian was forcibly removed from Waverly, Mictian took part of Waverly’s memories with her, which of course, poor Nicole, includes Nicole. So, it’s unclear how far back Waverly is reset, but...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...it’s definitely to before the beginning of the television storyline.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because she is shocked to see Wynonna at her bedside in the hospital.

 

LARAGH : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And she thinks she’s still with Champ. [grossed out sound]

 

LARAGH : [grossed out sound] What a horrible fate.

 

DARKWICCAN : What a horrible fate!

 

LARAGH : Could you imagine?

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh my god. Uh, so, yeah, so she thinks she’s still with Champ, she’s surprised to see Wynonna home, she doesn’t know that Curtis has died, I mean, it’s a lot.

 

LARAGH : [scoff]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, the way that isawet sort of does the storytelling, is in chunks of time. We start off with the initial waking up, and discovering this new situation that Waverly is in. Then we jump ahead a little bit to Waverly talking with the doctor and getting a clearer idea of what’s going on. Then we jump ahead a little more to still in the hospital but slowly recovering, ya know, and, and then, and so on and so forth. So, it’s, it’s not a continuous, like, the thing is, if isawet wanted to, they, I’m sure that they could have taken each of these chunks and made entire chapters.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, they are, have chose to, or were inspired to, tell the story in an economy of words. So, every single interaction is perfect.

 

LARAGH : Yes, and you can just feel the emotion, particularly for Nicole, because as far as Waverly is concerned, Nicole is nothing to her, and to her, that’s nothing, but for Nicole, that’s horrific.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, exactly, and oh my god, my heart, my heart just squeezed in my chest because Waverly does actually say that to Nicole.

 

LARAGH : Yeah. Oh.

 

DARKWICCAN : And it’s like “oh [laughter] it hurts so bad.”

 

LARAGH : It hurts so good.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it hurts so good, too. Yeah, both ways. Gets ya comin’ and goin’.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, but yeah, it’s a, it is, so this story is such an emotional rollercoaster and you go on this intense journey in such a short amount of time and...

 

LARAGH : [laughter] I just thought there are parts of it that are so gut wrenching and you’re like, you can see that there’s only like maybe a paragraph or two left and you’re like “how is this, how can this possibly resolve in this amount of time?”, but man does it. It resolves so beautifully. It is so joyful.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

LARAGH : And you feel like you’ve earned it. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh yeah. Exactly. You get to the end and you’re like “oh man, I deserve that ending, thank you.”

 

LARAGH : [laughter] It’s like smoking a cigarette. Like, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right?!

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s really like a whole story, again, in its brevity is like this sumptuous meal that you get this wonderfully light dessert at the end. It’s just so rich and satisfying.

 

LARAGH : Oh, yeah. And warm.

 

DARKWICCAN : And warm.

 

LARAGH : I think, I’m thinking of chocolate pudding now, sorry. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] A nice Christmas pud.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, yuck, but yeah. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You know, I know this, you told me you don’t like Christmas puds. Anyway, but yeah, so that is “never gonna be the same” by isawet, and of course, of course, we had to reach back out to isawet. We did have them on the show last season. This gave us the perfect excuse to bring them back on. So we will be chatting with them after the break, [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC : Abandoned and Forgotten (Inst) by Lyrics Logic and Lullabies

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am still your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is my wonderful cohost--

 

LARAGH : Hey, it’s Laragh.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is Laragh. That’s right, ya know, I keep forgetting.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Sorry. Whew.

 

LARAGH : [snicker]

 

DARKWICCAN : Just, brain like a sieve this week. I don’t konw what’s goin’ on. Oh yeah, it’s the amnesia fic, that’s why.

 

LARAGH : It’s in the air. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I just cannot seem to hold onto a single memory. Well, anyway, fortunately, I do remember why we’re here and who we’re talking to. Uh, [laughter] we are here talking with the fantastic author of the wonderful fic that we discussed last before the break, uh, and that is the amazing isawet, who we’re gonna call Aly again. Aly, welcome back.

 

ALY : Hi, thanks for having me back.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know what, I have to admit whenever I ask an author back on the show, I always get a little worried. [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Like, “oh I hope they had a positive experience and we didn’t scare them away” [laughter].

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I appreciate that if nothing else, uh, you’re at least being polite and coming back on the show.

 

ALY : No, it’s fun.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, good, good. That’s the aim. We try to make it as fun as we possibly can. Um, and yeah, especially considering, I know, I hope you don’t mind me mentioning that you’re a little under the weather, so I really appreciate you taking an extra dose of Tylenol cold and coming on to chat with us anyway.

 

ALY : Yeah, I appreciate everyone bearing with my gross voice.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think your voice is amazing sounding, so...and I’m the one doing the editing, so.

 

ALY : That’s what’s important.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s what’s important, yes. Absolutely. [laughter] Uh, so let’s see, what is going on right now? Have you been following the fight for Wynonna?

 

ALY : Um, tangentially, in terms of other people I know who are talking about it. I’m not so much in Earp fandom anymore, uh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, no.

 

ALY : Yeah, I don’t wanna get to much on this, like, positive podcast, I have not, I did not receive season three positively.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh.

 

ALY : So, I’m a little...just the way...

 

LARAGH : Yeah. I get that.

 

ALY : ...characters of color have been treated in particular. Um, but I still have a lot of...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

ALY : ...love for the characters and most of the cast.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah, absolutely. And I mean, Aly, this is a safe space...

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and if there is one thing that is, is genuine and honest, it’s that I think that there was a lot of, of eyebrow raising that was happening during certain uh, episodes, or in response to certain things that happened in season three. Um, it was, it was, it was a strange season [laughter].

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And a lot of choices were made, some things were kind of thrust upon the production that they had to respond to, sort of like they did in season two.

 

ALY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, ya know, I mean, yeah, and it’s completely ok to not be happy or ok with the way, with the direction a show is taking.

 

ALY : Mhmm. Yeah, I mean, the, the, the storylines in season three didn’t really make sense to me and I don’t know if that’s because I was just kind of watching and I wasn’t paying enough attention, so, maybe I’ll come back to it, I don’t know. And I also think that if people are saying “hey, we don’t feel like characters of color are being treated well”, ya know, the production has a responsibility to address that and to change things moving forward.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, I would have to agree with you there. Honestly, I think it’s just the same as if we were to feel that the um, queer characters weren’t being treated well on screen. It is on the production to um, hear that and to respond to that and to make adjustments. Um, and...

 

ALY : Yeah, I mean, Rosita kind of covered both of those as a queer character of color.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah, absolutely. But who knows what’s gonna happen in season four, and that’s why I’m like on the edge of my seat with this whole fight for Wynonna business because if we don’t get a season four, then we don’t get the opportunity, or Emily and the team don’t get the opportunity to address these concerns. We’re just sorta, we’re just sorta left.

 

ALY : Yeah, I mean if Rosita comes back, I’ll be back. That’s for sure.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I’m excited to see the...

 

ALY : I like her.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...introduction of Valdez, myself.

 

ALY : Yeah, that’s true. I’ll probably watch it. I end up watching most things um, so hopefully we’ll all be pleased.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it’s like, again, until we get season four, we’re just sorta stuck. We’re stuck. We’re just stuck. But ya know what, that is what fanfiction is for.

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Fanfiction is there to write fix-it fics and to uh, fill in the blanks with between and behind the scenes moments and to uh, go off in completely different directions and make uh, ya know, assumptions and guesses and play around with fanon...

 

ALY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and, yeah. So, that’s why we’re here, right? We’re here to talk about um, fanfiction and being able to play with those potentialities.

 

ALY : Yeah, which is the best thing about fanfiction.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, it is. It is.

 

LARAGH : Absolutely.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s why fanfiction lasts, ya know, in many cases, decades longer than the source material. Um, gosh, look...

 

ALY : Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...at Buffy fics. There are still fresh Buffy fics being pumped out, it’s just, yeah.

 

LARAGH : I’m literally writing one right now, so, yeah, they just last forever...

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly.

 

LARAGH : ...I think, if the fandom’s good enough.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, let’s chat about your adorable piece of art, Aly, um, the incredible story that we are discussing with you today. Uh, so your story was “never gonna be the same” and...

 

ALY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that’s the title, that’s not just me saying things are never gonna be the same [laughter].

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, so your story is an amnesia story. Unlike the other three amnesia stories we talked about in the first half of the show, yours actually takes place in early- to mid-season two and deals with uh, the whole Mictian episode and what would happen if um, Nicole, a) wasn’t there when Mictian was expelled, and b) what if Mictian took parts of Waverly with her, with it. Uh, so I just love that premise. It’s just so clever, uh, and interesting, so now, in writing an amnesia story, there are these classic tropes that tend to go hand in hand with these story ideas, so were there any specific amnesia story tropes that you were trying to avoid in your writing?

 

ALY : Um, there’s one that I did, that I actually usually, I mean, I’ve only written two amnesia stories, but I kind of don’t like it when a character gets their memory back all at once because I like...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : ...the angst of the whole situation. And I also like, I think it’s really sweet when people come together again, and relearn each other again.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : But because, like, Wynonna’s in this like magic, ya know there’s supernatural stuff, it makes more sense that they can lose their memory and like get it back in a way that’s more organic and less of, like, a cheat or a resolution. Um, so...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

ALY : ...I guess I didn’t really avoid anything, um, but I do wanna say that most of, I mean, all of the plot stuff and the ending in particular of how the memory comes back, and that’s all from Smurf, who I wrote this for. And I was like “I wanna write something, but I don’t know.” She was like “well, how about Waverly doesn’t have her memory and then this happens and then they get the memory back at this one part”, and so all of that comes from her, and so I wanna credit her.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, very cool. Alright, well, shoutout to Smurf. Smurf has been getting a lot of shout-outs...

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...this season on the show. [laughter] Smurf is just everywhere.

 

ALY : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] She’s omnipresent.

 

ALY : She’s an omnipresence. 

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, an omnipresent Smurf. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter] So, um, around what age did you consider Waverly to have reverted to when she lost her memory?

 

ALY : Ok, so, I did talk about this last time, but I don’t remember anything, anytime, any facts, and I just sort of ignore them.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : And so the number of times I messaged to, like, bring up Smurf, again, of like “how old are they? and like what’s the age gap between the sisters? and like how long has Wynonna been…” I just can’t retain any of that, like, math information.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

ALY : So, I thought about it when I got your question, and I was like “oh, I need to go back”. I had to re-read the fic ‘cause I forgot most of it. And I was like “ok”. And I think I would say I was deliberately vague so I wouldn’t have to pin this down. But I think I would say...

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Sorry.

 

ALY : ...maybe one year before season one started. Maybe two years, like...

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, yeah.

 

LARAGH : Ok.

 

ALY : ...pretty close to the start of the show.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : So, late teens, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that’s kind of what Laragh and I...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...were guessing at before we started recording. Um, before you came into the room, we were kind of trying to guess what age, and I was thinking “maybe, ‘cause she’s twenty-one at the start of the series, so maybe like nineteen, twenty.”

 

ALY : Yeah, nineteen, twenty.

 

DARKWICCAN : Cool.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, because this Waverly doesn’t behave in a way that suggests an immaturity. She’s definitely is behaving, more or less, like an adult, so.

 

ALY : Yeah, I actually had forgotten that she was twenty-one at the start of the show, that seems very young to me, actually, but um, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, she’s only twenty-one at the start of the show. [laughter] Allow me to be Smurf at this moment.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter] Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : And then I’ll get a message from Smurf later, going, “actually” …

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...adjusts glasses, if Smurf wore glasses, um so. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : “She was twenty and a half.”

 

ALY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : “Don’t give her those extra…”

 

ALY : Yeah, she would have, she has such a good, sometimes I ask a question, and she’s like “well, in the background of this one scene, there’s a piece of paper that says…” I’m like “what? How did you see that?”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Hugely detail oriented, our Smurf, which is why she is such a fantastic beta. Also why she is such a great writer on her own. She is just so caught up in all the details. So, this story is uh, written from Waverly’s point of view, and I’m curious, if you were to do a companion piece to this story, uh, from Nicole’s point of view, what scenes would you look forward to revisiting through her eyes?

 

ALY : Um, I’ve done stuff like that before, where I tried to take the same story and tell, like, a different point of view, and I kind of, I feel like re-writing the same scenes is really hard, ‘cause it’s like “oh, it’s already there, I just change stuff and it’s like already there so why do I have to write more. I already did that.” But, um, so, I think it would be more like the stuff that’s not there, if I was gonna write a companion piece. So, like the scenes where Waverly isn’t, like when Nicole finds out and when she’s waiting outside the hospital room. Like, I think that is more interesting than having, like, the same scene. I mean, I think another author could do a great job with that, I just don’t think that’s something that I’m good at.

 

DARKWICCAN : No, but I mean, that makes sense though, absolutely. And, in a way, those kinda, you are revisiting the scenes when you are, ya know, looking at things from Nicole’s perspective in the hallway, where we’ve got Waverly and Wynonna, or even just Waverly, alone in the…

 

ALY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...hospital room, that is, essentially the same scene, it’s just completely, it’s outside the room. We’re no longer a fly on that wall, we’re now a fly in the hall. [unintelligible]

 

ALY : Yeah, and also, like, like, when, like we have Waverly’s read, and then I like it when, ‘cause I read a lot of other authors who do cool stuff like this, um, when it’s like the other character has a completely different read on what’s happening or opinions on what the other person is thinking, I think that’s really cool to show. Especially with the amnesia stuff, to show they’re not on the same page, they’re not communicating well, that kind of a thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, and they’re not on the same page because, really, fundamentally, they can’t be. We’ve got one person with their experiences intact, and the other person who is essentially...

 

ALY : Right, so like they’re operating from different background knowledges and stuff like that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ooh. Yeah, man, I love that stuff. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : It’s meaty. It’s meaty stuff.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, you can totally dig into it.

 

LARAGH : Yeah. [laughter] So, uh, I thought that Waverly, throughout the piece, kind of seemed maybe a little bit standoffish to the idea of a girlfriend…

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah.

 

LARAGH : ...when she found out who Nicole was. Do you think that impact her trying to get her memory to come back at all?

 

ALY : I think maybe subconsciously she wants to know. Seems like Waverly wants to know most things, um, but it’s like scary to be told “like, ok, so, you don’t remember any of this, but you have this, like, really important relationship with a woman, and you’ve maybe never thought about that before”, um, I didn’t really address that, which I realized when I was answering this question, I was like “oh, I didn’t talk about how Waverly didn’t have like a moment where she’s like ‘oh, I like girls now.’” But it didn’t seem like in the show she was that hung up on the girl thing, more like she was hung up on who she was…

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : ...and who finding her own place, and what she wanted from a relationship, not so much who she was attracted to. That’s my justification for why I didn’t address that at all. Um.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

ALY : So, yeah, I just think she, I don’t think anyone likes being told what they feel, so like, and no one really tries to do that here, but like being told…

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : ... “you’re in this relationship” and it’s like “well, I don’t remember, I don’t have the same feelings when I see this person.” I think it’s just a natural reaction.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, yeah, absolutely. That is, that would be, I can’t even fathom that, being told, “oh yes, this is so and so, they are, ya know, your partner, and you’ve been in love with them for so long” and just being like “I have no idea who this person is...

 

LARAGH : 

 

ALY : Yeah, and I think it would be different if...

 

DARKWICCAN : ...why should I trust you?”

 

ALY : It might be different if it was someone she already knew. Like, if it’s like a friend and you started dating this person that you, ya know, you have a background of like, “ok, I know who they are”, but someone who’s like “I don’t remember meeting them” is different.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, so what you’re saying is that it would have been more easy for Waverly to believe it if Wynonna had said “oh yes, and you’re dating Chrissy Nedley now”? [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : She’d be like “that’s weird, but at least I like Chrissy and we’ve been friends for a long time.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Sorry, I’m just picturing the actress who plays Chrissy’s face...

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...being like “what?” [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, man. I hope we get more Chrissy Nedley.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm. Me too.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, do you think that uh, the fact that she’s just saying “I don’t know this person so that’s a big leap for me to take”, how would that kind of similar thought structure affect her in relating to other things in her life that she has lost or missed?

 

ALY : Well, I don’t know too much, I know that there’s been some behind the, not behind the scenes, but there’s been that blog, information that the fans got to have, like what they were doing prior to the show, which I don’t have, so I don’t know, but I think, I don’t think I talk about any of that. The only thing is that it did seem to me like she knew about the curse, and she already believed, so that wasn’t so much of a jump, of being like “it is true, and there are demons”.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

ALY : It was like “yeah, I already, like everybody else didn’t believe and I’ve been believing.” So, it was kind of a cool validation.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, she gets her justification.

 

ALY : Yeah, I’m not sure what else. I guess, like, the death of the, who’s that guy? That like owned the bar. Is his name Shorty?

 

DARKWICCAN : Shorty?

 

ALY : Oh, his name is Shorty.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : Shorty.

 

ALY : Um, like, that grief...

 

DARKWICCAN : Shorty’s bar, owned by Shorty.

 

ALY : I wasn’t sure. I don’t remember.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : Doesn’t seem like he was born with that name.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] First name was probably something like Dave. That doesn’t, ya know.

 

LARAGH : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Shorty’s bar, owned by Dave. [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : I think there could have been more with Gus, if I was gonna go back, um, that would be nice.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : Oh, ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Totally, ‘cause Gus is such a Waverly cheerleader.

 

ALY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, like in her Gus-y way.

 

ALY : And I think she was a big part of, they had that big conversation right before she decided to go for it with Nicole, so it seemed like a good way to like reference that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah. Totally.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, because I think that was a really important moment for Waverly.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I think when you have, when someone that you respect and love deeply, and someone whose approval you seek, gives you that freedom to go...

 

ALY : Mhmm. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...chase your dream. That, that’s a huge deal.

 

ALY : Yeah, and it is kind of a coming out to a parental figure. Like, as close as you’re gonna get to that scene in the show. So, I really liked that scene.

 

LARAGH : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Me too, I love that scene so much.

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m gonna go back and watch that after this.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so, [laughter] so, the narrative is really interesting in this story, in that it keeps skipping forward in chunks, and um, now, that being said, it still feels like a complete and total story. There’s nothing about it that feels like um, you’ve skipped something in order to avoid having to deal with something else. Um, but was there a reason you opted to tell it in this way instead of turning into, like, a multi-chapter story?

 

ALY : Um, well, I, for me, something I’m still working on, is I have a really hard time writing, like, longer works, of like, I picture scenes and I want to write those and then all the connective stuff, it’s really hard for me and I don’t like it and I’m really bad at it, so I’m like “what if I just put like slashes, and just ignored all the transition and just, like, jumped straight to the next thing I wanna talk about?” So, that’s kind of the real reason, that’s kind of how it is in all the stuff that  write, just ‘cause I’m still working on that. And the other thing, this was, I think I wrote it in a couple of days, it was for Smurf, and I was like “oh, I just wanna write something and get back into it”. I never wanted it to become, like, a longer term kind of project because I have enough of those that I’m ignoring, and I don’t need, like, more.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : We feel you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. I like it. I like it in this context, I think it works well because it almost sets a motif where, as Waverly is slowly getting flashes of her past back, we’re also jumping forward in chunks at a time. So, we’re getting these kind of flashes of scenes, ya know...

 

ALY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that may only be ten, maybe fifteen sentences, with some dialogue thrown in, before we jump ahead further, down the timeline, so I think that motif-y wise, I just made that word up, it is, uh, an excellent way of storytelling and really, really, really works in this, so I just want you to know that I really like that and I was just curious.

 

ALY : Well, thank you.

 

LARAGH : Do you think there was one sensation in particular that made Waverly’s memory start to come back?

 

ALY : Um, I think it was supposed, they have, like, a kiss, or something, and that was supposed to be, like...

 

LARAGH : Yeah.

 

ALY : ...the dramatic moment, but I don’t actually talk about her also getting, like, I know I could talk about her, like, having flashes from the show, and I thought about that, of, like, trying to write almost like a montage, but then that sounds like I’d have to rewatch a lot of stuff, and I don’t want to.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

ALY : And then, so I just tried to, like, talk about Waverly just thinking about Nicole in almost like this same stuff that she’s thinking about during the time where she doesn’t remember and then it’s just kind of like what makes her remember ‘cause I think that’s really romantic. Of like, it was nothing, it wasn’t to ignore all the stuff that already happened in the fic, but it’s like all the stuff that happened is what caused her to remember ‘cause they still have that pull and the connection that they have together.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, I really like that. I really like that um, that it was romantic, like you said, because I have read amnesia fics in the past where there’s this instant recognition, even if they don’t know what it is, but, ya know, the amnesiac will recognize that they love the person and it’s supposed to be romantic this way, and the way you wrote it, I really felt like we earned the romance.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm. Mhmm.

 

LARAGH : Um, so, yeah, I really felt satisfied to have been brought to that point.

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

LARAGH : That came out totally wrong, but I’m gonna stick with it. You know what I mean.

 

ALY : Yeah, ‘cause I think, I love amnesia as a trope, I think it’s awesome, but what I really like is that, like, angst of like, “I don’t have an immediate recognition for you, that, like, everything that we, like, know about romance...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : ...says that I should”, but then they kind of find it anyway through work and I think that that’s, that feels more genuine to me. It takes a lot of work...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : ...but then the pay off is that work pays off, not like something unrelated triggers a memory of the stuff that you use to know.

 

LARAGH : So, [laughter] we, so, we were, uh, we were just saying with the, you kind of had that moment where she, ya know, was kissing Nicole and the overall sensation, did, was that always going to be the point? I think you mentioned earlier that you talked to Smurf about this, that that would be the point that Waverly would...

 

ALY : Yeah, what Smurf came up with is that, how she lost her memory, and actually, I think that this was written before we knew, I think it was written between season one and season two, so we weren’t sure what the deal was with the goo. So, it was like, something happens that she’s not possessed, but then this is like the fallout where she loses her memory. And then, um, what Smurf came up with, is she’s like lost her memory, and then that whole end scene where they go, I think they go walking um, to talk about her Uncle and she’s in, like, this emotionally vulnerable place, Nicole is there for her, they have this closeness that they feel, and then, Smurf really came up with, and then they kiss, and then she kind of, she gets her memory back, so they, yeah, that was always gonna be the point where she gets her memory back, and all the work that I did was just getting them to that point. 

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I have to say that in reading this story, I definitely felt like there was a um, sort of a orchestral feeling to the storytelling. Uh, in that you have this um, almost subliminal background track of uh, emotional orchestral music in the background, that starts off very subtly, and then by the time we get to the walk, um, that leads up to Waverly remembering pretty much everything, it’s almost like this crescendo, so out of curiosity were you listening, or do you tend to listen to music as you’re writing?

 

ALY : Actually, I don’t tend to listen to music because I get, the music has to match what I’m writing and then I get really into, like, picking songs and it, like, digs into what I’m actually doing, so I actually tend to watch TV while I’m writing, or like have it on in the background, so, like, stuff that I don’t have to have my full brain engaged with, so I’ll like rewatch stuff I’ve already watched, or I’ll watch a lot of, like, trash procedurals. So I watch a lot of  _ Law & Order _ and, like,  _ Criminal Minds _ .

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

ALY : It’s like, you don’t have to really pay attention to know what’s going on.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s so true.

 

ALY : There, and I’ve seen them, I’ve seen them all before.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

ALY : So, I kind of do that more than music. Once in awhile I’ll listen to music, but I just find that I get really distracted by the music that I’m like “this song isn’t right. I have to find this other song.” And then I’m twenty minutes into picking songs. Stuff like that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, ‘cause then it’s not lining up with the emotion that you’re going for and...

 

ALY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...you’re at odds with your narrative and you’re like “ah, this isn’t working for me.”

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

ALY : Yeah. I kind of listen to it at the end. I usually have titles from songs that I’m listening to at the end when I’m editing and stuff like that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Gotcha.

 

ALY : So, this one, I think, what was the name? Oh, it’s um, it’s from a Courtney Love song. Um, I think the song is called “Never Gonna Be the Same”. I’m pretty sure. It’s a good song.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, a Courtney Love song?

 

ALY : Yeah, it was, or was it when she was solo. Hold on, I will look, I will look this up. ‘Cause I know she was with, yeah, it was on solo. Yeah, a Courtney Love song. It’s a good song. It’s a little bit sad.

  
  


DARKWICCAN : I’m gonna have to listen to this, ‘cause honestly I never in a million years would have put that together at all. I never would have put a Courtney Love song with the inspiration or at least the inspiration for the title of this piece.

 

ALY : Yeah, I mean, I think if you listen to it, it will make sense.

 

DARKWICCAN : Cool. I’ll totally check it out, absolutely. Um, I’m excited now. I’ve got music to listen to. Yeah.

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, one thing we were talking about in the first segment is that this is a story that hurts so good.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, there’s a moment um, in the storytelling, where Waverly actually looks at Nicole in the eye and says “I look at you and I feel nothing.”

 

ALY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ouch.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Was that like, ouch, dude? Like. [laughter] How was that for you to write that moment?

 

ALY : I feel like when you’re writing sad things, it doesn’t affect you as much as when you’re reading them. So, like, when, I think if I was someone who was reading that in someone else’s fic, I’d be like “oh my god that’s the worst”, but writing it, I was like, I do want to be angsty. I really like fics that hurt and then have like a happy pay off.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : I think that’s the best balance of that. You don’t get to the end and go “oh my god I’m so depressed.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

ALY : You feel, like, they’ve, they have earned it, and you’ve earned it through them. I did want it to be sad, I mean, I’m not really someone who writes a lot of angst, I think, so it was hard, but I enjoyed it. And I think it’s hard for both characters. I don’t talk about how Waverly feels when she says it. She doesn’t say it to be mean, she’s like “I wish, I almost wish I felt something, but I just don’t.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah, I don’t think she’s saying it to be mean either. She’s saying it out of pure frustration. At least, that’s how I took it, um, that may not have been what you were thinking when you were writing the words, but to me it was like she’s just so frustrated, like, “goddamnit I want to feel something for you, but I just don’t and I’m sorry.”

 

ALY : Yeah, no, that’s absolutely what it is. When she ended and she’s almost sorry to Nicole, and sorry to herself, like, “this is hurting both of us, even though I can’t remember.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, because I don’t think there’s ever any question for Waverly that Nicole is a good person.

 

ALY : Yeah, ‘cause I tried, I like, I just like writing Wynonna and Nicole interacting...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : ...but it’s clear, I think, from like, other characters, that she talks to Doc about it too. Like that they were in a good relationship and everyone really likes Nicole as her own person and they liked them together and so it’s like she’s lost this relationship and this, like, part of her core friend-group family, and it’s kind of hurting everybody.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, hurts so good.

 

LARAGH : Hurts so good.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, Aly, thank you so much for coming on to chat with us today. I have had so much fun talking with you, and again, this is a completely safe space and you’re not the only person to have voiced concerns about the most recent season of the show.

 

LARAGH : Nu-huh.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, ya know, so don’t feel bad about that. I, myself, have my own set of concerns about it as well.

 

ALY : I mean, I don’t feel bad about it, I just wasn’t sure this was the right place to express it.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s totally cool, you’re totally fine.

 

LARAGH : No, totally cool.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely. Again, we are fanfic people...

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and we take problematic things and we make them better, that’s what we do.

 

ALY : Yeah, I’ll have to get, I mean, I haven’t checked just the authors I’m subscribed to, but I’m sure there’s a lot of great fics that came out of season three that I could get into.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah, there absolutely is.

 

LARAGH : Oh, for sure.

 

DARKWICCAN : Let me tell you who I…[laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t like to brag, but I kinda have my finger on the pulse of the  _ Wynonna _ -fic world. [laughter]

 

ALY : I’m sure you guys are the experts.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ah. Well, ya know what, before we let you go so you can start catchin’ up on all those season three fics, we do have one more question for you. Now, the last time you were on the show, uh, you got asked the desert island fic question, so we don’t ask that a second time. You are committed to that initial answer and I’m sorry. Actually, I’m not sorry, deal with it.

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Anyway, [laughter] so, Laragh, if you will please ask Aly our revised final question, just for her.

 

LARAGH : What is a classic trope you haven’t written for that you’d like to give a try, and what ship would you use?

 

ALY : Ok, uh, I love tropes. I can read the same trope over and over again. One, the one I really love that, if you find it written well, it’s like the best fic, I feel like, it’s, I think people call it like a Peggy-Sue, I’ve heard people call it that. But, it’s like where a character is transported back in time...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, that is a Peggy-Sue.

 

ALY : ...to their body of that time. Yeah, so...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

ALY : ...like if season, at the end of the season, like, Wynonna went to sleep, and then she woke up in the pilot episode with all the knowledge of what’s gonna happen, and then...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

ALY : ...she can choose to do things differently. I love that trope.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, and so who, what, any sh, any fandom, what ship would you use for that?

 

ALY : Oh, gosh.

 

DARKWICCAN : Or, what character?

 

ALY : I don’t know, I’m kind of between being obsessed with fandoms right now. I mean, I’m still in some fandoms, like there’s still stuff I wanna write for  _ Wynonna Earp _ and there’s stuff I’m writing for Clexa, but I’m kind of between. I think, anything that has a lot of angst is good for this one, which I think both would fit there, just because it’s like “what can I do to prevent these things from happening?” and then all the new problems that happen and you try to take steps to change things. Actually, I feel like a  _ Buffy _ would be really cool for this.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ooh.

 

ALY : A Buffy/Faith. I’m really into Buffy and Faith right now. Um, so I think that would be cool ‘cause there’s so much stuff that I’m sure either one of them would wanna change.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh man.

 

LARAGH : Mhmm.

 

ALY : And I think that would be a good place for, like, the angst of “I’m traumatized and no one knows why I’m traumatized from all these things that have happened and like, I need to change things so that these people are protected.” I love that. That would be really cool.

 

DARKWICCAN : Dude, I would so show up for that fic, man.

 

LARAGH : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Front row. I would show up. Yes. [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, I wasn’t a big Buffy and Faith shipper at all, but I can totally see that so clearly.

 

LARAGH : Yeah, I’m the same. I was just thinking, “I don’t ship them either, but that’s interesting.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

ALY : Oh, you gotta ship them, they’re so good. Well, especially Faith. Faith has had so much growth and changes to kinda be put back into her teenage self and having to know what’s going on with, like, the mayor, and all the other stuff…

 

LARAGH : Right.

 

ALY : ...I think that would be really cool character stuff, even if you’re not into like, the ship part of it.

 

LARAGH : I didn’t really watch any of the episodes with Faith, so.

 

ALY : Oh gosh, you’re missin’ out.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, so, so like, so like would you have her jump back to the “Bad Girls” episode, like right before she accidentally kills Allan, the deputy mayor?

 

ALY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh.

 

ALY : Actually, I could go either way. Even right after ‘cause there’s like all these consequences, and she’s like “I’m not that person anymore, but no one’s gonna believe me, necessarily right away.” And then having to deal with that again, after she’s had so much growth and come back from it and people do believe in her at the end of season seven, or during season seven, and then suddenly being slingshotted back to where, like, Faith is evil and Faith just killed someone. I think that would be really cool.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh my god, that would be incredible. You have to write it now. [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Just add it to your list.

 

ALY : The thing about those, the thing about those is you have to have a really good uh, canon knowledge, and I think it’s clear that I don’t have that for anything.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

ALY : Because I just make stuff up all the time, but someone should write it and I will definitely cheer them on.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

ALY : [laughter] And read it.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Ok, authors listening. If you have any experience writing in the  _ Buffy _ fandom.

 

ALY : Yeah, get on it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Aly has thrown down the gauntlet, go for it. [laughter] Oh, gosh, Aly, thank you so much for coming on and chatting with us today. This has been so much fun, and I hope one day to uh, meet you in person, and shake your hand because, my friend, I really, really enjoy your writing. If I didn’t, you wouldn’t be on here twice.

 

ALY : Thank you. I mean, it’s so much, it’s such a, it’s self indulgent, but I think anyone who writes is like “yes, ask me questions about the stuff that I’ve written”, and um, I like listening to the podcast, and I think I might be at ClexaCon, so we might cross paths.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, awesome, yes. I’ll definitely keep my eyes peeled. I, both Laragh and I will be at ClexaCon, so, I look forward to seeing you there. Both of you, and uh, everybody have a fantastic week.

 

ALY : Thank you.

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN :And that's it for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for tuning in. Huge thanks to isawet for joining us again to chat about their fic. Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, Heart of the Forest by Alec Holowka, Abandoned and Forgotten (Inst) by Lyrics Logic and Lullabies, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	24. Road Trip!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week on the podcast DW, Delayne and Laragh hit the open road as they discuss the fantastic road trip AU ‘Three Thousand Miles, Two I Love Yous and One Last Goodbye’ by Em McConachie!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/road-trip)

 

Read the fic!

‘Three Thousand Miles, Two I Love Yous and One Last Goodbye’ by Em_McConachie https://archiveofourown.org/works/15215519

 

This Week’s Reverse Sponsor: EarperCity (tw: @earpercity)

 

Episode Artwork by Chantal Zeegers (tw: @zeegersc)

 

Em McConachie’s Desert Island Fic: ‘Small Town Gun’ by isawet - https://archiveofourown.org/works/7122703

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by @ApproxTenCats 

 

Ep 224: Road Trip

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN: Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everybody to another episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me, arguing in the back seat about who’s touching whom, are my wonderful co-hosts...

DELAYNE: Hi, it’s Delayne.

LARAGH: Hi, it’s Laragh.

DARKWICCAN: Alright, settle down you two.

[general laughter]

LARAGH: I’ve missed Delayne’s laugh so much.

DARKWICCAN: I know, it’s been so strange not having that laugh to accompany… everything.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Okay, wow.  I never thought I would be known for my laughter.  But I mean I guess I’ll take it.

LARAGH: It’s a good thing to be known for.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, it’s a good thing.  Yeah, it’s good. Take it, embrace it. Embrace the giggle.

LARAGH: We should put that on a t-shirt.

DARKWICCAN: Welcome back.

DELAYNE: Embrace the giggle? 

LARAGH: Embrace the giggle.  Hashtag embrace the giggle.

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: That’s going on a t-shirt for sure.  Absolutely. [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

Okay.

DELAYNE: [laughs]  That was the one brief moment of silence that you are gonna get on this podcast, just so you know.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, everybody go back and listen to that moment of silence because you’re gonna need it later.  [general laughter ] As this road trip really kicks off. But before we dive into the road trip that we’re talking about today I do want to take a moment to acknowledge that the EFA Fic Challenge is a thing.  And by the time this airs it will probably be a thing that is over and a winner decided by you dear listeners. But because we record four to five weeks in advance for us it’s just started this week with our top 16.  So I just want to give a quick shout out to the top 16 who made it into the final brackets that are going to the voters starting on Monday the 11th. So congratulations to  _ The Girl From Room 208 _ by ODDATLover, that’s One Day At A Time abbreviated Lover, also to  _ Icarus Meets the Old Man and the Sea (But Wayhaught) _ by loveisgravity,  _ Doc Vs the 21st Century _ by BaggaHeda also known as boo_in_la,  _ Bees Knees _ by DreadPirateBrown,  _ Three in the Morning _ by Haughtbreaker,  _ When It Gets Heavy Put the Weight on Me _ by igotopigfarts. 

[giggles in the background]

DARKWICCAN: It’s like they knew their name was going to be spoken out loud and decided what is the most hilarious name that I can come up with that can be spoken aloud.  Those are our first eight, the other eight are  _ Under the Crushing Weight of the Blood Moon _ by CMO_AllTheTime,  _ No One Knew the Cost _ by Tigerlo,  _ In the Stillness of Remembering What You Had _ by GilliganKane also known as PirateKane,  _ Shoeboxes _ by Seda,  _ Canines _ by Orange17 also known as DubiousOrange17,  _ The Way to Found _ by Coldmackerel,  _ The Demon Hunter’s Handbook for Home and Self Care _ by Maidenstar also known as Rositabustillos,  _ Toothpaste Kisses (Stay With Me, I’ll Stay With You _ ) by CapturetheFinnick.  And that rounds out our top 16, congratulations all of you on a hard fought battle between the three of us hosts to figure out who our top 16 was going to be.  Fifty one, fifty one total entries! That is almost double our freshman year, so this was really exciting, thank you everyone who submitted a story. Even if you didn’t make it into the top 16 I guarantee you your story was fantastic.

LARAGH: We had a very hard time. 

DELAYNE: They did not make it easy on us.

DARKWICCAN: No, not at all.  Well we had to end up going to a numbered judging system and going that way because just basing it off of, “well I kinda like that,” or “gosh that was great.”  The problem was that every single one of them was, “gosh that was great” and then we were like, “well, okay how are we subjective about this?” So we went and we created a numbered system, kind of like if you watch  _ World of Dance,  _ sort of that.

DELAYNE: I was imagining holding up the cue card with the number.

LARAGH: [laughs] 

DARKWICCAN: So the top 16 that numerically scored made it through but yes, everybody who submitted a story bravo and brava and bravissima.  It was a fantastically, wonderfully, terrifically difficult job we had, I cannot thank you enough for that.

DELAYNE: Alright so let me start the car here.

DARKWICCAN: Alright, let’s go ahead and start that car up.  Note to self: insert car starting sound effect here. So the fic we’re discussing is all about road tripping and this story is called  _ Three Thousand Miles, Two I Love Yous and One Goodbye _ by Em McConachie.

DELAYNE: One Last Goodbye.

DARKWICCAN: One Last Goodbye, thank you, by Em McConachie, and I’m excited to get into this but before we do I’m going to turn it over to Delayne because she just finished an epic road trip so Delayne, tell us of your travels.

DELAYNE: Right, so you were mentioning embrace the giggle, gosh where have I been?  I’ve been road tripping. I have been moving from California to Washington and my wife and I took pretty much five, no probably closer to seven straight days of travelling.

LARAGH: So when are you getting divorced.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, right?

[general laughter]

DELAYNE: Well, considering we live separately I don’t know, take what you want from that.

DARKWICCAN: But you lived separately prior to this relocation.

DELAYNE: Yeah, we lived separately prior to, we’re actually closer now so I’ll be road tripping more now that it’s probably a four hour drive instead of flying and getting to see her only four times a year.  So there are a couple of key points to a road trip, especially one of mine. At some point during the trip I will lose my damn keys.

[general laughter]

DELAYNE: And in this particular instance we were trying to deadhead it to Oregon as fast as possible so instead of renting a hotel we actually just spent the night at a rest stop.  Well, there’s a rest stop right across the Golden Gate Bridge, it has a lovely view of the Golden Gate Bridge. And it was like eight o’clock when we arrived, we watched  _ Serenity _ , in fact I tweeted about it, you know, home entertainment system with a lovely view.  And it was about nine o’clock and we actually pass out, and then about two o’clock we both wake up and we’re like, “hey let’s just get moving, we’re wide awake”.  So I go wander off to the restroom, wander back, and I start looking for the car keys. And I cannot, they’re not in my pockets, they’re not where they usually… We start digging through the car, which also keep in mind I’m terrible at packing, my wife is great, but I had to pack before I picked up my wife so when I picked up my wife there was about ten minutes of her bitching about how badly I had packed.  Because she couldn’t fit.

DARKWICCAN: Ah, marriage.

DELAYNE: She couldn’t fit her stuff in, it was bad.  So we’re starting to dig through all of this crap, I’m checking the garbage, I’m walking back to the restroom, she checked underneath the car, we’re not seeing it anywhere.  This cop pulls up...

DARKWICCAN: Oh no.

DELAYNE: And asks if we need help.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, good.

DELAYNE: Because, you know, it’s two o’clock in the morning.  I’m like, “no we’re fine,” Becky’s like, “I have faith, we’ll find it.”  Because she’s used to this happening, I lose it so often, we’ve just got to take a minute.  And I checked the garbage at least two different times, we’ve checked everywhere, and I finally decide to check under the car, because Becky had, but I hadn’t, and sure enough underneath the driver’s seat on the floor, on the ground, is the car key.

 

DARKWICCAN: My god dude, wow.

LARAGH: Have you considered like a GPS tracking device or something for them?

DARKWICCAN: But it wouldn’t have helped, it wouldn’t have helped, she was standing right over them.

DELAYNE: I would have been sitting right on top of them.

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: It would have been like, “your keys are here,” “I know they’re here, I can’t see them!”

DELAYNE: And of course it’s not a road trip without at least one detour up a random mountain, in this case Google told me to because there was a landslide blocking the 101.

DARKWICCAN: Oh my god.

DELAYNE: The second time it was, “hey let’s see if we can drive this” and then there was a lot of snow and I was sliding around and we turned around.

[general laughter]

DELAYNE: We didn’t get stuck in snow but we slid in snow so it’s either one of those, stuck in something, that’s usually a prerequisite for one of my trips, losing the keys, getting stuck, oh and also buying a cooler, filling it with food so you can eat healthy and then proceeding to stop at all of the fast food places [inaudible]

LARAGH: Nice

DARKWICCAN: Well, that’s one of the joys though of a road trip, all of the junk food.

DELAYNE: Exactly.

DARKWICCAN: Little bags of Cheetos.  Orange dust covering everything.

LARAGH: Oh my god, this is my worst nightmare.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, well you finally made it to your destination safely, you’ve been there a few days now and settling in [inaudible]

DELAYNE: And been working my ass off, yeah. : 

DARKWICCAN: Well, I’m glad that you made it to where you were going, and I’m so happy that you are back with us on the show. 

DELAYNE: I am happy to be back.

DARKWICCAN: So let’s... 

DELAYNE: I’m giggly to be back.

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So segwaying from your mildly calamitous but in no way unexpected road trip, let’s talk about the road trip in  _ Three Thousand Miles, Two I Love Yous and One Last Goodbye _ by Em McConachie.  This is a fantastically written story, it is currently eight out of eleven chapters, I happen to know that the author is feverishly working away at chapter nine.  And it is one of those stories that you can just dig into, the chapters are very meaty, it had already cracked 100,000 words by chapter eight. So it is just a lot of fun, and so many hijinks and calamities and drama that happens on this road trip, you know interpersonal drama between the characters, and it definitely has you hooked. 

LARAGH: It does.

DARKWICCAN: So the premise of the story is that Nicole is in college, currently on her break, and it’s summer break, and she has received a postcard from her mother, who she’s estranged from, from a suburb of Dallas, that’s where the postcard came from.  They’re of course in Purgatory which is in Canada. So Nicole has this really awkward, bad relationship with her mom, hasn’t really spoken to her in years, and decides that it would be good to travel to see her mother for the first time in years for reasons that I don’t want to give away.

DELAYNE: Right, gotta save a little bit.

DARKWICCAN: Gotta save some of it.  Of course Nicole can’t go by herself so she’s gonna take her best bro Wynonna along.  And of course Waverly as well, they’re not an item, Waverly is just finishing high school correct?

DELAYNE: Yes.

LARAGH: Mhmm.

DARKWICCAN: And Waverly has always sort of had eyes on Nicole, and Nicole has as of late sort of had eyes on Waverly, but they’re not together.  Nicole is coming off of a rather tumultuous and not good relationship with her ex.

DELAYNE: That’s still sort of you know trying to cling on a little bit.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, we’ll get to that, we’ll get to that. And so Waverly invites her friend um… Chrissy along.  I don’t know why I had to pause for that. [general laughter] Why did I pause? That was stupid. Anyway so she brings her friend Chrissy along and the four of them set off in Nicole’s fantastic Mustang.  Convertible mustang.

DELAYNE: Right, cars, her shiny new Mustang GT, like… ugh, and I love that it’s her dream car, she’s super excited about it.  Was it a Honda or a Toyota was her old car? Civic something? I don’t know.

LARAGH: Only you would pay attention to that. 

DARKWICCAN:  You would pay attention to cars, of course you would.

DELAYNE: Of course I’d pay attention to the cars.  I’m strange like that, yeah. Shit, I’m sorry I derailed the conversation.

DARKWICCAN: That’s alright.  But that’s the premise of the story.  It’s the four of them, travelling south, kind of hitting all the touristy hot spots as they head south, from Canada through America as they make it to the outer suburbs of Dallas Texas.

DELAYNE: Hey, real quick, I have a question for the both of you.  Have you ever travelled in a large pack of people? Four of more? I’m trying not to be gender specific here because that’s just rude.

DARKWICCAN: Oh you mean have we ever road tripped with a group?

DARKWICCAN: I have, yeah.  I’ve actually road tripped with four people.  And coming up for Captain Marvel I’ll be road tripping with five people to go see Captain Marvel with the PNW Earpers in Vancouver Canada next weekend. 

LARAGH: Nice, amazing.

DELAYNE: What about you Laragh?

LARAGH: I have never road tripped period.

DARKWICCAN: Ooooh.  It’s kind of hard to road trip in Ireland isn’t it?  Because it’s quite small.

DELAYNE: Well guess what you’re doing next time you’re here.

DARKWICCAN: Road trip to the Hoover Dam!

DELAYNE: Well, I guess, DW for you, it was what I call a boomerang trip. It was a down and back, from Vegas to L.A. and back again.  We were driving to see a theatrical performance that could only be seen in L.A. So we drove down and everything was fine, and then we went to drive back, we were actually driving back the same night, because we were crazy, we were in our early twenties and invincible.  And I could not convince anyone else to frickin’ drive. I had been driving, and awake at that point for probably 26 hours. I could not convince anyone else to drive. We were headed northbound on I15 and we come to, no kidding, Hidden Valley, California, and I am so on the edge of losing it, I’ve got my head rolling back on my shoulders and my eyes are blinking wide open, I’m trying to use every muscle in my face to keep my eyes open.  And we pull over at a stop, I finally pull us over in Hidden Valley and I’m like, “you guys, either we sleep here at this Shell station or somebody is going to drive my frickin’ car. I don’t understand why you don’t want to, it’s a perfectly fine vehicle.” Well, one of them was like, “I can’t drive because I don’t have a licence.” And we’re like, “okay, well we knew that so you’re out.” And the other one was like, “I’m just really nervous about driving a car that I’m not on the insurance on.”  I was like, “that’s concerning, okay great.” So I said to my last friend Kelly, I was like, “Kelly can you please just drive the frickin’ car.” And they’re like, “my licence has expired.” And I was like, “I don’t care if your licence has expired, I can’t drive it, so if you don’t want us to sleep in this Shell station parking lot right now I need somebody else to drive so that I can finally pass out.” So she gets out, we swap places, I go to the passenger seat, she gets into the driver’s seat, and just as she is turning the key over, I kid you not, this cop car pulls up next to us. [general laughter] And she just goes white, absolutely white, sheet white.  And I’m just like, “be cool.” This is that moment in those teen movies where one character is freaking out really really unnecessarily and the other character is trying to calm them down and it’s only making them worse. 

DELAYNE: Well, don’t we have at least one of those scenes in this?  That sounds familiar.

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Yes, a “be cool” scene? Yes, yeah, definitely.

DELAYNE: Oh, I’ve taken many… this just seems so wrong, of course I’ve never actually ended up in any bar fights so that’s a plus.

LARAGH: Nice.

DELAYNE: I’ve been through many small towns in Idaho and that’s why I was excited about this fic.  They’re going through places I know, and I have been to, and I’m able to picture it so easily. That tiny ass town in Idaho, my gosh.  

DARKWICCAN: You gonna go into detail there?

DELAYNE: Well, you know how I start talking about stuff and then fade off....

DARKWICCAN: You’re right, it’s been a minute Delayne, it’s been a minute.  I gotta get back into the groove...

DELAYNE: Of talking to me?

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.  So Laragh you’ve never… no, no, I’m taking it away from you now, you faded off. [general laughter]  So Laragh, you’ve never actually been on a road trip so you can’t bring those experiences to this, but what I want to ask you is what moments in this story really stuck out to you the most?

LARAGH: What moments stuck out to me the most?  Interesting. I’m a tropey kind of girl so I like the awkward bed sharing, I thought, “yeah, I’m here for that.”

DELAYNE: There was some excellent awkward bed sharing.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, and then some not-so-awkward bed sharing.

LARAGH: That too.

DARKWICCAN: Then some very awkward bed sharing.

LARAGH: And some angry bed sharing.

DARKWICCAN: Yes.

LARAGH: There’s a lot of bed sharing in this fic.

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So you bed sharing enthusiasts out there, this is one you’re gonna wanna read.

DELAYNE: Literally my hotel room right now has the two Queen beds in it right now, because it’s cheaper for some reason.

LARAGH: Nice.

DARKWICCAN: Why would it be cheaper when you have an entire extra bed?  You could swap beds every night, for funsies. You could build a fort using the mattress and box springs.  But anyway, anything else in particular that you really enjoyed?

LARAGH: In particular?  I really liked the scene towards the end of the chapter we have now which is eight where Waverly and Nicole start dancing under the stars.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, so this is a slow burn, but of course it is a Wayhaught fic so there is a pay off, and like any good, and I would classify this as a rom-dramedy.

DELAYNE: Yeah.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, so in the comical element side of it, and also in the drama side, in the dramedy side, I don’t know, I’m just going in a circle right now, they of course have the misunderstanding after they get together.  And then there is the dramatic moment where everything could be lost because of external circumstances that I’m not going to give away. But would it be a Wayhaught story if somebody didn’t end up in the hospital? I mean honestly.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Sounds about right.

DARKWICCAN: Right?  And I love the Wynhaught BroTP in this story.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

LARAGH: Oh my god, it’s amazing.

DARKWICCAN: Right?  Em McConachie does such an incredible job of perfectly distilling down the essence of BroTP and just utilizing it with excellent aplomb in the writing.  I root for everybody in this story, I root for Nicole, I root for Wynonna, I root for the Wynhaught BroTP and also I root for Wayhaught and I root for Waverly...

DELAYNE: I root for Chrissy.

DARKWICCAN: And those things aren’t always in alignment right?  Those things aren’t always aligned.

LARAGH: I don’t root for Shae.

DELAYNE: I liked the house party in Salt Lake City.  This fic does a good job of exploring this underground party scene in Salt Lake that exists that I don’t think people are aware of.  So hopefully this will draw some attention to that, like this seems like a real party that could happen in Salt Lake, I am not kidding.

DARKWICCAN: It makes you wonder, has Em McConachie attended a house party in Salt Lake City? 

DELAYNE: Oh my gosh, isn’t there a furry at the party?

DARKWICCAN: No, I don’t think they were technically a furry.

LARAGH: They’re dressed up.  But they’re not actually a furry.  At the Golden Gate Bridge there was someone dressed up as a furry doing a photoshoot.

LARAGH: Okay [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: It was San Francisco, c’mon.  But as far as in Salt Lake City, in the story, someone was dressed up but they weren’t actually a furry.  Someone may have called them a furry as a joke, but I don’t think they were a furry.

DELAYNE: Ah, it may have been a little bit since I read it, but I remember someone with a mask because that was just ridiculous.

LARAGH: There were definitely suits involved, yes.

DARKWICCAN: And they came in and ended up causing a bit of confusion about identity, identity confusion right?  Mistaken identity! That’s the term. You know what I’m saying.

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: The funny thing is that I relate to this road trip because I have driven along the highways and through a lot of the towns that they are talking about where it’s going to be different for me is when they finally get into the Dallas area, that I’m not familiar with that, otherwise I’m like, “ticking the box, ticking the box, I’ve had this experience in some capacity, oh my gosh!” 

DELAYNE: Right?  Isn’t it fun?

DARKWICCAN: It is fun.  Maybe not the getting chased out of town part, that’s not great.

DELAYNE: Or was the car broken down?  Outta gas? The brief hitchhiking.

DARKWICCAN:  Brief hitchhiking.  They had their stuff stolen.  My favorite one was the fact that Wynonna did something with Waverly’s luggage that I don’t want to give away.  Suffice it to say she ends up having to buy some touristy clothes while they’re in Las Vegas that are very revealing.  This entire story it’s just, I mean it’s so much fun. I mean again it’s got the heavy emotional side of it but it’s perfectly balanced, Em McConachie has done a fantasticjob of perfectly balancing this fic with just the right amount of pathos, just the right amount of comedy, just the right amount of romance, I mean it’s just perfect.  

DELAYNE: I agree.

LARAGH: Me too.

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So listeners I know that we have really, really been talking around this story a lot, that’s just because it’s so fantastic and we don’t want to give any of the major plot points away.  It’s so good and it’s such a fun ride, and it really is a ride, and it’s so excellent but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have questions so we are, I think, gonna wrap this up and gonna head into our second segment where we can chat with author Em McConachie about this fantastic story  _ Three Thousand Miles, Two I Love Yous and One Last Goodbye _ .  [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]   
  


MUSIC: 'Jessica' by the Allman Bros Band

  
  


DARKWICCAN: Hey everybody and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me, still arguing about who’s touching whom in the back seat, are my delightful co-hosts....

DELAYNE: Hey, hey, hey, Laragh quit touching me.

LARAGH: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Listen if I have to pull this podcast over I’ll do it.   We have a guest riding shotgun, you’re embarrassing us. 

[general laughter]

DELAYNE: At least she’s not in the back seat with us right? 

LARAGH: Yeah.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, that’s absolutely true.  The worst thing that could happen was if she was riding right in between you two.  Let’s welcome our guest, the author of  _ Three Thousand Miles, Two I Love Yous and One Last Goodbye _ , Em McConachie, who’s asked us to call her Emma today.  Emma, welcome to the show.

EMMA: Thank you, thank you for having me.

DARKWICCAN: Thanks for coming on, especially on this delightful daylight savings day.

[general laughter]

EMMA: We worked it out.  We had it right in the end.

DARKWICCAN: Well, I was interested to learn that the UK actually does have daylight savings but it happens two weeks after the US daylight savings so there’s a slight period of time when our time zones don’t quite line up like they normally do.  So Emma I’m going to open up with a question that I ask so many of our authors and that is what brought you to Wynonna Earp?

EMMA: Yes, I think it’s a pretty common story.  I think I first found out about it on a site called the L-Chat, have you heard of the L-Chat? 

[nervous murmurs]

LARAGH: Apparently we have.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, we know L-Chat.  Uh huh.

EMMA: It’s a really really toxic place.  But I saw a thread about it on there and it was very active, and I checked it out and thought, “oh, maybe.”  But it wasn’t really my thing because it’s a Western and it’s supernatural, not really my style. But one day it popped up on Netflix and I binge watched it and I was really into it and yeah.  Pretty standard story really. 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, it’s so amazing how that happens, you’re right, that’s really true.  

EMMA: Really not a very original story that.  Yes.

DARKWICCAN: But you know, it’s still unique to you because it’s yours, it’s your experience.

EMMA: Yes, that’s true. But after that I got into the fanfic very heavily, I read so much before I decided to write anything, I think I read for sort of six months or so, and then I wanted to tell my own story and that’s how it happened.

DARKWICCAN: And is this your first fanfic ever?  Or just for this fandom?

EMMA: Yes, it’s absolutely the first fanfic I’ve ever written.

DARKWICCAN: Are you serious?  It’s incredible.

EMMA: Absolutely, this is my first fandom.  I didn’t even know fandoms existed to be honest, until now, so it’s all very new to me.  This is the first thing I’ve written in years too so it’s all really...

DELAYNE: That’s amazing.

DARKWICCAN: So, did you have a background in writing?

EMMA: Mhmm.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, that is so incredible.  Did you have a background in writing original fiction just for fun when you were younger?

EMMA: Yeah, years ago, when I was a kid.  Pretty much when I was sort of eighteen, I wrote a lot of original fiction.  I’ve tried a few times since then. I’m very busy so it hasn’t always worked out.

DARKWICCAN: Hey, you’re very busy watching Wynonna Earp and writing some incredible fanfic.  

EMMA: Um, oh my goodness.

DARKWICCAN: So is Wynonna Earp the first genre style television show you’ve gotten into? 

EMMA: Um? Hmm. That’s a good question.  I really love Buffy, if that counts? Something like that.  Battlestar Galactica, I love that show. But I never got into fanfic.  I suppose to be honest with you I had a fairly negative perspective on fanfic which was fairly naive of me.

DELAYNE: We are glad you came around.

DARKWICCAN: That’s okay.

EMMA: Honestly I was a bit snobby.

DARKWICCAN: That’s okay, fanfic does have an unfortunate misunderstanding about what it is, and why it exists, and the general quality, and that’s really kind of why I started the podcast with my buddies here, kinda actually this seems like a legitimate form of writing here...

DELAYNE: We’re looking to change that. 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, we’re working on it.

EMMA: I had this association with  _ Fifty Shades of Grey _ , obviously.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Yeah that crap [inaudible]

LARAGH: No.

DARKWICCAN: It really did not help, not at all.  See I like to point to things like Shakespeare, so many of his pieces were essentially fanfiction of… scripted fanfiction of [inaudible] It’s true.

DELAYNE:  _ Romeo and Juliet _ is um... oh what was the…. crap.  But even  _ Romeo and Juliet  _ is based off another story.

DARKWICCAN: Well, the first thing that pops into my mind is the  _ Comedy of Errors _ which is based on the _ Menaechmi  _ twins.   And that’s Greek, that’s an old Greek comedy.

EMMA: Yeah, that’s interesting, I’m learning things.  This is great.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, we had WrackWonder on and she’s a professor of classical literature so she just starts listing off all of these immense titles.

EMMA: Yeah, it’s awesome.

DARKWICCAN: Just going, “this was a fanfic of this, this was a fanfic of this…”   

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: So speaking of things that are kind of a cornerstone of storytelling in general and to circle back around to the reason why we are all here which is to talk about your immense, and apparently-first-time-what! story.   Which is basically a giant road trip, and the road trip is a huge staple of storytelling, I mean, going back to  _ The Iliad  _ and  _ The Odyssey _ and  _ The Canterbury Tales _ .  These are all road trips.  So what aspect of this trope or this cornerstone of storytelling were you most excited to play with in your writing?

EMMA: Um, okay, when I first thought this idea up I wrote this really long list of common road trip tropes based on movies and from my own experience, things like that.  I’ve only used a tiny fraction of them in the end actually. But you know, lots of little stuff, things like running out of gas and having to hitchhike, picking up a hitchhiker, sleeping in the car one night, having to share a motel room with a really loud snorer, because that’s something that’s happened to me.

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: I can commiserate with that as well.

EMMA: I actually have slept in a bathtub before so that’s…

DARKWICCAN: Me too.  On a road trip.

EMMA: It’s not very comfortable is it?

DARKWICCAN: No, it’s terrible.  I don’t think I slept more than maybe ten minutes.

EMMA: Yep, that sounds familiar.  

DELAYNE: Wow, that is not one I have experienced myself.

DARKWICCAN: Avoid it.

EMMA: Please do.  But the big one was the romance obviously, the road trip romance, because it’s such an interesting environment to be exploring a love story because it’s so claustrophobic.  You can’t get away from each other, you’re stuck there together, you’re in this bubble and time sort of passes very differently I think on a road trip, an hour can seem like a day.  And then there was trying to make it a secret romance as well, that was another… I don’t know if it’s really a trope in road trips but it was a thing I was excited to write.

DARKWICCAN: It’s a romantic trope.

EMMA: I suppose.

DARKWICCAN: And like you were saying, the thing that you’ve got them in these really, really close quarters, it’s like, you know…

EMMA: Yeah.

DELAYNE: It makes it more difficult, more of a challenge.

EMMA: It’s really hard to write, when you’ve got four people in a car all the time.  It’s like, “oh gosh, I’ve got to be taught how to have these four people talking all the time.”  And you know that’s hard because you’ve got to have all these dialogue tags. Because normally if you’ve got two people talking you don’t need the dialogue tags so much?  But with four people it’s always, “oh, I’ve got to make sure that that’s Chrissy speaking now, so Chrissy’s got to have a dialogue tag” and anyway, I’m digressing...

DELAYNE: That’s actually a very good point.  I feel you should digress more.

EMMA: It was just really hard to write.  It’s hard to write the group scenes but I actually enjoy them the most on the other hand.  But anyway... I just did it again didn’t I? I just cut off… 

DELAYNE: You know, just like this podcast, we take detours, just like trips.  You know, sometimes trips take detours as well. But trips first need planning so I want to know, did you plot out the fic in advance?  And all the stops along the way?

EMMA: Yes, I did plan it out.  All the major arc I planned out from the start.   And once I’d done that I planned out the route in really fine detail.  And then I messed it all up. [general laughter] Pretty badly. But at first I wrote a ton of notes and then I got everything all structured but then I took some major detours.  And it’s sort of been like a real road trip in a sense, like you plan it, and then you get on the road and different things happen. You take different roads. And that’s pretty much how it’s worked out.  There are so many strange things that have happened, that the characters have created themselves I suppose as I’ve written. Things like Wynonna bolting in Vegas, that wasn’t in my plan originally so when that happened I was like, “oh my goodness, I’ve wrecked the whole route.”  So they had to go all the way back, you know they went back to Utah. So suddenly they’re going through Arizona to get to Dallas rather than going via Nevada and yeah, so I messed things up pretty badly. But you know, I am a planner.

DELAYNE: [laughs] We love it when people say that line.

EMMA: The Waverly line yeah.  So it’s been a bit of both to be honest, I’ve tried to plan as much as I can but I do think it’s important to be flexible.  To let the characters take the story where it needs to go sometimes.

LARAGH: Speaking of planning the route you said in your notes that you’d travelled a lot of the same roads and the same route they travelled in the story, was it the memory of your trip that kind of was the inspiration for this fic?

EMMA: Um, if I’m going to be honest then no.  I think the real inspiration for this fic was actually the friendship between Wynonna and Nicole in the show.

LARAGH: Solid inspiration.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs] Sorry that just cracked me up because, “the real gift was the friendship they made along the way.”  Sorry.

EMMA: Yeah, I really loved their dynamic because they’re so different but yet so the same at the same time.  So I wanted to write something that would honor that. But in terms of my own road trips, yes I’ve done a couple in the States.  I did one from San Francisco to Vegas to Denver, and that was the one I was trying to draw on the most. But then I messed up the route [laughs] so I didn’t actually touch on that many of the places I had been.  But the other road trip I did in the States was irrelevant, it was from New York to Atlanta, so it wasn’t really...

DELAYNE: Very different part of the country. 

EMMA: Yeah, very different.  But I was thinking about this a few weeks ago and I realized a lot of the inspiration was actually a trip I took when I was eighteen myself in Australia.  From Sydney up to Far North Queensland, there were three of us in a really old wreck of a car. And it was very dramatic because two of us hooked up on this trip...

LARAGH: Oh god. [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Being the third wheel in that situation is the worst.

EMMA: It really was, and that person the girl who was the third wheel, she actually dumped us half way through.  So that was a really fraught experience, it was a lot of fun, I mean it turned into this lovely romantic trip on the way back.  But on the way there it was a lot of little dramas and action that I think I’ve drawn on quite heavily. But that was eleven years ago so yeah, so yes and no is the answer over all.  Getting back to the question. I really was driven by the love of that friendship. But I do love road trips and I have done so many of them. So many in Europe as well.

DARKWICCAN: So you’re saying you did base this story in part on a kind of a combination of road trip experiences that you’ve had.  So you did travel from San Francisco to Vegas and then back up to Denver but my question is on that trip from San Francisco to Vegas did you stop over at Salt Lake and do you have personal experience attending a house party in Salt Lake?

EMMA: It wasn’t on that road trip.  It was actually a second trip which wasn’t a road trip but yes, the answer is yes.  I was visiting an American friend that I met in Australia. She went to law school with me over there, she was on exchange.  I was doing sort of a general trip to America, bumming around, seeing various places and I stayed with her, I think it was for three or four days.  Anyway while I was there it was her dad’s fiftieth, and it was this really formal staid party with chardonnay and fancy cheese and yeah, it was nothing at all like what happens in my fic.  Except the setting, I did steal the setting. I did steal the setting. These people were lawyers and they had this massive house in Cottonwood Heights and it had this lovely view. So yes, yes but it was really boring is the answer.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: So you’re like, “I’m just going to take this really boring event and really just turn it up to eleven.” 

EMMA: Yep. 

DARKWICCAN: So you had the idea for the house party based on that really dull personal experience that you kind of ramped up.  But I’m wondering, where did you… no?

EMMA: Not really, I just thought I’m going to have a party in this fic at some point where I want this scene to happen.  Obviously that’s the point where Waverly walks in on Nicole and Chrissy. It’s obviously a very important story point and I wanted to set that within a party like that.  And so it just happened that that was going to happen in Utah. It was a strange setting for it, I was like, “Mormons, this doesn’t really work.”

DELAYNE: Actually… [laughs]

EMMA: Sorry, I hope I haven’t offended somebody.

DELAYNE: No, Salt Lake City is very unique, it does have this sort of underground subculture because it’s sort of counter to the severeness of the Mormon culture and I feel like you’ve portrayed that fairly well…

EMMA: Yeah, I was told about that.

DELAYNE: Okay, so I guess I was wondering how much research went into that particular incident but also some of the other stops along the way.  Like they stop in Idaho Falls and I’ve lived in Idaho Falls so…

EMMA:  Oh really?  I have not been there so I hope I didn’t get too much wrong.

DELAYNE: Well, I actually pictured one of the smaller towns a little further out, because Idaho Falls is fairly big.  But I was just wondering how much research in general you went into for the stops, especially the ones you didn’t know.

EMMA: Yeah.  Lots. Lots is the answer.  I’m really big on research.

DELAYNE: Yay.  We like that answer.

EMMA: Actually I have an Oculus Rift, I don’t know if any of you have one of those?

DARKWICCAN: No, we’re not that cool.

EMMA: Okay, it has Google Earth on it right?  So you can do street view, 360 degrees, so you’re standing there and you can get this incredible view.  Every road in America, you can just go in and you can see everything that’s around you. I found that immensely helpful, and inspirational sometimes.  Sometimes I would get bogged down and be thinking, “oh, do I really want to be writing this?” and I’d go and spend some time in there. It’s like the holodeck from  _ Star Trek _ ?  It’s a lot like that. And it’s so much fun.  I get lost in there for hours. I wish I could spend my whole life in there sometimes, but I have to work.  But yeah, I do that and also I do a lot of internet research as well. Obviously I talk to people who have been to places that I haven’t been to as well, and find out their views on it.  I’ve tried really hard, I know I’ve made mistakes, that’s going to happen. I do try and do my best.

DARKWICCAN: That is so cool.  That is the coolest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

LARAGH: Same. 

DARKWICCAN: I wonder what businesses are on Main Street in Corvallis, Oregon, I’m just going to pop into my little holodeck here and take a walk down Main Street.

LARAGH: So rad.

EMMA: It’s like in my current chapter I’m writing I go to a place called Tucumcari, I don’t know how to pronounce it actually.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, you pronounced it right, Tucumcari.

EMMA: So I’m like Wynonna is really into donuts as you know and I actually went into my Oculus Rift to count the donut stores in Tucumcari just to be authentic.

DARKWICCAN: Oh my god, that is so cool, that is so amazing.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

LARAGH: That is next level.

EMMA: I’m a little anally retentive about the research.

LARAGH: It’s good.  It’s a good trait.

DARKWICCAN: That is an excellent, excellent trait.  We actually hugely appreciate research hounds here on the show, for sure.

EMMA: Okay.

DARKWICCAN: I’m still sitting here going, ”you go into your personal holo-deck and you just walk around the place that you’re writing about.”  I’m so nerding out right now. 

LARAGH: That’s also quite genius.  It really is.

EMMA: I recommend it.

DARKWICCAN: Oh man.  Have you taken a walk down that little town where they shoot Wynonna Earp?  Have you done that?

EMMA: Where is that?  No, I haven’t because I don’t know where that is. Do you know the name?

DARKWICCAN: Oh yeah, oh I’m a bad Earper, I don’t know the name off the top of my head.

EMMA: It’s near like…

DARKWICCAN: It’s outside of Calgary.

EMMA: There is actually a Ghost River Triangle isn’t there, there’s a Ghost River.

DARKWICCAN: There’s the Ghost River.  I don’t know if there’s an actual triangle but there’s the Ghost River.

DELAYNE: You can make a triangle, all you need is three points.

 

DARKWICCAN: You can.  Yeah, I mean by that, you can make a triangle anywhere.

DELAYNE: But I don’t know if the triangle itself is actually separated by [inaudible]

LARAGH: It’s just a mythological thing.

DARKWICCAN: You’ll have to pop into your Oculus Rift….

DELAYNE: Walk along the entire Ghost River.

EMMA: It’s not actually a road so that could be a challenge.

DARKWICCAN: True, true, they haven’t done Google Riverways yet.

[general laughter]

DELAYNE: Note to self: idea for… I’ll just strap a camera onto my wife when she’s [inaudible]

DARKWICCAN: That’s a great idea, really floats her boat.

DELAYNE: Well that was a detour wasn’t it?

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: Perfect perfect.

LARAGH: So, I want to talk about Chrissy.  Chrissy is a central character in this and she is not usually a central character in  _ Wynonna Earp _ fics, which is a shame I think because she’s awesome.  But how did you find writing her? Particularly writing her within the friendship of the four women because the other three have quite a tight knit bond.

EMMA: Yeah, I really love writing Chrissy.  I think because she’s a clean slate, there’s not that much known about her.  She’s an enabler of Waverly, and she’s kind. I think those are pretty much the two traits that you take away from the show.  She was originally intended to be a sounding board for Waverly, someone she could confide in. But she sort of grew into this other thing really while I was writing.  I really sort of half fell in love with her while I was writing, it was nice. But yeah, obviously, she becomes someone Nicole talks to at various points. But she’s very important to Wynonna in the story, I think.  She sort of becomes her BFF, well certainly by now, what I’m writing at the moment. She intervenes a lot, intervenes with Wynonna at important moments. And I think she actually acts as a cipher for me and for anybody reading sort of with frustration you might be having with the characters if they’re not communicating.  So I think that’s what made her quite popular. People seem to really like her in the comments I’m getting and I think that’s why, because she’s saying the things that when you’re reading, she’s saying the things that you’re thinking, “why aren’t you talking?” Or ”Wynonna you’re being a…” I won’t swear.

DARKWICCAN: You can swear.

EMMA: Don’t know if you edit that out.

DARKWICCAN: No

EMMA: I wanted to give her bigger storylines too because I think I had somebody sort of grumble at me a little bit after chapter five because I hadn’t had enough of her in that chapter, I sort of neglected her and so I made a point of having her win big in Vegas, and scaring off the bear.  So yeah, no, she’s been really great to write and I think she’s been really pivotal. Obviously the bit where Waverly walks in on Chrissy and Nicole is a very important point as I mentioned earlier and it was a lot of fun to write. I think that was my favorite scene to write, when I was writing it, so dramatic, I think I mentioned earlier.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, Chrissy is one of the characters that is beloved in the fic fandom and I think that readers just eat it up when she is, for want of a better phrase, on-screen.  And especially when she’s made a central character, so knowing that she’s so popular in fic and how much you have yourself fallen in love with her character as you have taken her and expounded upon her, I think that we’re going to be seeing Chrissy again on-screen.  What would be your hope to see in Chrissy back on the TV show.

EMMA: Like you mean in terms of her personality or with what they do with her?

DARKWICCAN: Both.

EMMA: I’d like to see her have a great sense of humor. I think there’s potential for that from what they’ve shown us.  In terms of storyline if they do a Wayhaught wedding she’d be a great inclusion for a, what do they call it in America?  Like the hen?

DARKWICCAN: Like a maid of honor?

EMMA: Like the party, a hen party.  What do they call that over there? 

DARKWICCAN: Oh, the bachelorette party.

EMMA: Yeah, so something like that could be pretty cool to see her.  Beyond that I haven’t really thought about it. To be honest I think I think of her as my own character a little bit too much, because I haven’t seen that much of her in the show.

DARKWICCAN: That’s fair thought. That’s totally fair.  Yeah, you’re right and I think when authors do pick up on these tertiary characters who have very little screen time on the series, in fact in Chrissy’s case we only saw her in season one, she’s completely absent in season two and in season three she got one mention in the last episode.

EMMA: She did.  You’re right. Is she coming back?  

DARKWICCAN: That’s the… I think...

DELAYNE: Everyone’s asking for it.

DARKWICCAN: Everyone’s asking for it and I think that given that things are a bit up in the air right now about the production schedule for season four, I know we’re getting a season four, I have no doubt in my mind, but what this extended delay does is it allows more time for percolation in the writers room, and knowing that they do, Emily does do a lot of fan service in the writing of the show without sacrificing the integrity of the story, she knows that Chrissy is incredibly important within the fandom and she’s been getting a lot of requests for Chrissy to make an appearance.  She knows. So I think that she’s gonna come back, I think she’s gonna be part of a rescue mission. I wouldn’t be surprised, this is pure speculation time, but I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if finding Chrissy happens before they find everybody else.

EMMA: Really?  This is interesting to me.

DELAYNE: That could be fun.  Then she could be an extra to help with the rescue.

DARKWICCAN: And again, that’s pure bold faced speculation. 

EMMA: Right.  I read that the actress is actually a physiotherapist or something like that.

DARKWICCAN: Are you serious?

EMMA: Yeah.  

DELAYNE: As a person who does their research you actually researched on the actress? That’s fantastic.

[general laughter]

EMMA: So yeah.

DARKWICCAN: So wait, let me ask you, did you bring… I mean obviously the gals are teenagers in your story, did you bring that aspect of the actresses real life into elements of Chrissy’s personality.  Like maybe she’s got a proclivity for, well not a proclivity…

EMMA: For physiotherapy? [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, well maybe she is a great mas… well maybe she has a gift for anatomy, I don’t know.

DELAYNE: Well, she has a gift for math.  She’s a quick learner.

EMMA: This is true, I mean honestly maybe, I don’t know.  I do research the characters pretty hard. I don’t know how to answer that question.

[general laughter]

DARKWICCAN: For instance, we know Waverly canonically is interested in history, and in languages, and all of that and so that information filters through into how her character expresses herself in storylines, whether she is an adult or a teenager who is passionate about these things.  So that’s what I’m saying, like if Chrissy is passionate about medicine, obviously physiotherapy is not, you know…

EMMA: Yeah, I don’t feel like I’ve really built that into Chrissy in this fic.  I mean, she’s into boys obviously. That’s one way of being into anatomy.

[general sustained laughter that doesn’t stop for quite a while]

LARAGH: Oh my lord.

EMMA: Okay.

DELAYNE: Why is that so funny?

EMMA: I don’t know.

DARKWICCAN: I think we’re all tired because of the time change, I think we’re all touchy.

DELAYNE: Punch drunk from all the travelling. 

DARKWICCAN: Okay, so I think before we dig ourselves in any deeper holes I need to pull us into a rest stop.  We’re just about out of time today Emma, it’s been so wonderful having you on but before we let you go we have one final question for you, let’s see who gets it this week, Delayne?

DELAYNE: It’s been a while I feel, since I’ve asked this, alright, you are stranded on a desert island, driving around in circles [laughs], don’t ask me why you have a car.  You have only one fanfic to read, what is it.

EMMA: Alright, so this was really hard, because my actual favorite is a Gilmour Girls fic, it’s a Rory/Paris fic but I don’t want to go with that because I think it should be Wayhaught so it’s  _ Small Town Gun _ by Isawet.  

DARKWICCAN: [gasps] Yes.

LARAGH: Yes.

EMMA: It’s just really beautifully written I think, really spare and bittersweet.  And I think in a funny way it actually inspired my fic because Nicole is from Texas in it and she comes from sort of a broken family, and Waverly and her get together kind of off the back of that a little bit, trying to have a found home together.  It’s not obviously about that but it’s something I took away from it and it’ll be more obvious in the last two chapters that’s where I’m going with this story but to have them have these pretty crappy childhoods and to come together and form something new.  So yeah, it’s just a really really lovely piece of writing I think, it’s really beautiful yeah.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, that’s one that actually been a desert island fic for a couple of others in the past and Isawet, Sunspill, has such a way with words and they’re so economical with their use of words but they communicate so much and I am more than happy to provide a link once again to  _ Small Town Gun _ by Isawet in the show notes for this episode so everybody who hasn’t already read it can read it and those who have can reacquaint themselves.  Well, Emma thank you so much for taking time out of your day today to come and chat with us about your fantastic road trip story and put up with us being whacky at you.

EMMA: Thank you.  Thank you for having me, sorry about my cold but yeah, it’s been fun.

DARKWICCAN: Didn’t even notice the cold at all.  Well, next time you’re over in the States we’re going to have to take an Earpy road trip.

EMMA: Absolutely.  Will do. 

  
  


And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.

 

Tremendous thanks to Em_McConachie for putting up with us playing the alphabet game between questions on our road trip today.

  
  


Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro 

 

Background music for the episode was:

 

A Proper Story  by Darren Korb

 

Why She Hides (Inst) by Lyrics Logic and Lullabies

 

Jessica BY The Allman Bros Band

 

and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

  
  


If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. 

 

And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.

 

And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

  
  


Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	25. Haught for Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week DW and Delayne stay after class for 'extra credit' as they discuss Teacher/Student AU's!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/haught-for-teacher)

 

Read the Fics!

[Dry-Pressed Shirts and Acid-Washed Jeans](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14941551) by paradoxicalconverse

[Wouldn't You Love to Love Her](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18077666) by bootsncatz

 

Episode artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://efapodcast.com/youareavision.tumblr.com)

 

This Week's Reverse Sponsor is [Viking Elf](http://efapodcast.com/redbubble.com/people/vikingelf)

 

Bootsncatz's Desert Island Fiction selection: [Wicked by Gregory Maguire](https://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Life-Times-Witch-Years-ebook/dp/B000FC14JY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=APTR0SXBWO4Z&keywords=wicked+by+gregory+maguire&qid=1555907041&s=digital-text&sprefix=wicked+by+gre%2Cdigital-text%2C203&sr=1-1)

 

Trancript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [MrsBlueBacon](http://efapodcast.com/twitter.com/mrsbluebacon)

 

EFA Episode 225- Haught for Teacher

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy and welcome everybody to this week’s episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me, hastily grading papers, is my lovely cohost--

 

DELAYNE : Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] And, it’s just Delayne this week.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, yeah, just me. Oh, man, see, the day I don’t have papers to shuffle around.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : My notes are in my phone today.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ah, yes. You’re going paperless. That is far more environmentally friendly way to approach things, and I know that Dominique, particularly, would be very happy.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I’m a, yeah, I’ve got the, the scantron. I don’t know.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Isn’t scantrons pieces of paper?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, but they’re smaller pieces of paper, instead of.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s true. They are much, much smaller than a standard piece of paper. Ok, fine. We’re not talking about the little blue booklets, right?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I hate the little blue booklets.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause that means it’s an essay test.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Oh, so why are we talking about grading and essays? Well, we’ll explain to you in a minute, but first, we’ve got a little housekeeping to do. We have a patreon, and we have a new patron. [pause] Hold your applause.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : We…[laughter].

 

DELAYNE : That pause was all you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Geez.

 

DELAYNE : Am I supposed to say something?

 

DARKWICCAN : You were supposed to go “oh yay, a new patron!”

 

DELAYNE : Oh, yeah. I guess I’m not really with it today.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I was busy grading.

 

DARKWICCAN : Anyway. Oh, yeah. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Write a big ol’ F and circle it in red.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Did you, did you write that on your phone?

 

DELAYNE : Alright, yep yep. I’m totally doing that now.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. [laughter] Alright, but anyway, let’s give credit where credit is due to our fantastic new patron Michelle. Michelle, thank you so much for joining our patreon, we really appreciate it. Every single penny that comes in from the patreon gets turned around and put back into the production of this show, and other bonus fun stuffs that we post to the patron, uh, patreon account. So, if you’d like to get in on that, and help us finance the show, we would greatly appreciate it. If you would, take a look at patreon dot com slash E F A podcast and you can take a look at the fun little quirks on each...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...quirks?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Tiers.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is working. Yeah, take a look at the fun stuff at each tier level, depending on what tier level you wanna come in at, uh, and, but if, if you don’t wanna do that, that’s totally cool. If you wanna still support the show financially a little bit, but prefer to have, make it a one time thing, please visit our Redbubble store. Redbubble dot com slash people slash E F A podcast slash shop, and you can check our many, many cool items there. Anything from wearables to holdables to drink-out-ables.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And um, see if there’s something there you’d like to add to your home collection, but if you don’t wanna do any of that, or you can’t, we completely understand. We’d appreciate it if you’d just listen to the show and tell your friends about us and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and that is more than enough for us. So, so, any of the ways you can support the show, we wholeheartedly and deep soulfully appreciate it.

 

DELAYNE : Thank you. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You’re welcome.

 

DELAYNE : I was thanking them, but thank you, too, because...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, sorry.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, ok. Now I feel full. Anyway, moving right along. Da da da da deet [ph]. So, so why is Delayne grading papers today?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] [fake cough] Changing subjects quickly.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s because the theme of this week’s show are teacher-student AUs.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Now, this we set ourselves a bit of a challenge on this one.

 

DELAYNE : Caveat! Caveat to this one. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. In the EFA FAQ, we state that we will not promote fics that feature a relationship between an adult, a legal adult, and a minor. Especially, always and especially, when there is a power dynamic issue. So, when we said, “let’s do student-teacher AUs”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] How is that gonna work?

 

DARKWICCAN : We can only do college and university based student and teacher AUs, where everybody’s an adult already.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Um, and the power dynamic is there, but it’s a little, ya know, more like sexy or something.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Some people are into that. That’s what I’ve heard.

 

DARKWICCAN : Some people are into that. So, um, we set ourselves a bit of a challenge because there are actually, ya know, a good chunk of fics out there that are categorized as student-teacher AUs. Unfortunately, a majority of them are high school situations, which is a big red flag no no for us.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, we did have to do quite a bit of digging and we came up with two fics for you today. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, before we get into it, I have a question for you. Did you ever...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, ok.

 

DELAYNE : ...have a crush on any of your teachers?

 

DARKWICCAN : I did.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. And that’s all I’m going to say.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, when I was in grad school, I, uh, I definitely found my genetics teacher very attractive. Unfortunately, she did also teach the class with her husband, so [laughter].

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Totes unavailable.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Anyway, so, uh, one of the fics that we found is called “Dry-Pressed Shirts and Acid-Washed Jeans” and I did not write the author down. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : paradoxicalconverse.

 

DELAYNE : I’m on top of it today. Um, “Dry-Pressed Shirts and Acid-Washed Jeans” by paradoxicalconverse. And, um, in this one, it’s Nicole, well, she’s actually a TA, but she is, uh, ya know, she’s teaching the class, and Waverly is the student, and this one is like trope city. [laughter] We’ve got the circling of one’s drink, we have a bet, we have the one-night stand, ya know, the meeting before they know they’re upcoming relationship.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, and it’s, it’s fantastic, and it’s also E rated, so of course I enjoyed that part. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Oh, Delayne, you horn dog, you.

 

DELAYNE : So, yeah. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You…[laughter]

 

DELAYNE : What was your favorite part? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, I would actually have to say that uh, my favorite part was when they walk into the classroom, uh, and they discover that, Waverly discovers that Nicole is her TA, or the TA who is leading the class, and Nicole discovers that Waverly is a student in the class.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And they’re both sort of internal gay panic, and I also enjoyed how Nicole got really angry at Waverly because Waverly was absentmindedly playing with her pen...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...in a way that could be taken as provocatively, but that Waverly was completely oblivious to, um.

 

DELAYNE : But then that started a whole thing. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That started a whole thing, ‘cause then Waverly knew she could mess with Nicole.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I did really appreciate how uh, paradoxicalconverse stuck with the uh, nobility and the, kind of, uh, lawful, good side of Nicole...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...where, ya know, she, after class Nicole talks to Waverly like “listen, we can’t do anything because, ya know, it’s wrong. I am technically, kind of, your instructor and, ya know, university rules, ya know, frown upon relationships between students and, and class leaders and da da da da da [etc sound].” And, so, I mean, because there have been a lot, there have been a lot of fics lately that really push that line with Nicole, in being, to being a bit of a bad girl uh because we did get that reveal in season three...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that she use to smoke behind the church, ya know, so, we do know that at some point in her life Nicole was a bit of a rule breaker, and we know that she will break rules on the show in order to protect the people she loves. Example, bugging Tucker’s phone, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know, what that has done...

 

DELAYNE : But, he is the worst. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : He is the worst, yeah, she was absolutely right. Um, but what that’s done, is that it’s opened this kind of doorway to fic authors who wanna take that idea of bad girl Nicole and really expound upon it, and uh, so as a result, we’ve got a lot of fics lately where Nicole really is just like, uh...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...I don’t wanna say, I don’t wanna say a loose cannon, but ya know, she’s definitely a lot more free-wheelin’ than maybe...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] A lot less pleat in her pant.

 

DARKWICCAN : A lot less pleat in her pants. And sometimes that’s good, and sometimes it’s just pushin’, pushin’ the envelope a little too far for me, and I’m reading objectively as myself and, ya know, I’m sure there are tons and tons of readers out there who just eat it all up and think it’s the greatest.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And that’s totally totally fine, all opinions are valid. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But, I did like in this story, paradoxicalconverse did keep Nicole in that kind of uh, I almost said straight and narrow. Nothing about Nicole is straight. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, actually.

 

DARKWICCAN : But you get what I’m sayin’.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, I get what you mean, and my favorite part was, ya know, before we get to class during the one-night stand, and ya know, it, Waverly goes back to Nicole’s place and Waverly makes the joke, “oh, I thought we were here for movie night. What do I need to see the bedroom for?” And so Nicole, very quickly, “oh, ya know, I thought I was clear, but if I wasn’t, yeah, we can, we can do movie night. We don’t have to do anything.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, she immediately switches gears and is like “ok”, which is absolutely a Nicole thing. For sure.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] What did you think about how, the, what did you think about the choice of class the paradoxicalconverse had them uh, taking part in? I was, like, I wonder, I’m gonna have to shoot paradoxicalconverse a message over Tumblr and be like “hey, are you like a math major?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Because the class they were in was a calculus class, and it seems like a lot of the stuff they were talking about, or Nicole was talking about, comes from personal experience.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Uh, but, it was a, it was a good choice though, because it would be something that Waverly would not take again, and would not keep encountering Nicole as a TA.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yes, this Waverly is not a fan of math.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I love how, how she’s like “I am never taking this class again.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Please say I passed, I don’t wanna take it again.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] Yeah, I thought that was, interesting, but as you say, strategically, excellent choice. But ok, I think that we’ve kinda said all we can say about that one without getting into deep spoiler territory, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Pretty much told you the whole story.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, no, no we didn’t.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, I guess, you gotta find out...

 

DARKWICCAN : We did not.

 

DELAYNE : ...how it ends.

 

DARKWICCAN : What happens next, right. You have to find out what happens next.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, please check out “Dry-Pressed Shirts and Acid-Washed Jeans” by paradoxicalconverse. Ok, my turn. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Yes, your turn.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, oh. I love a good twist.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I love it when a story, you think is gonna go in one direction, and it takes this hard left turn. It is the best gift in the world.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And that, that is a million percent the case with this amazing new short story by bootsncatz called “Wouldn’t You Love to Love Her”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so, first of all, Boots gets around the student-teacher trope and the potential awkwardness, especially with the age difference and things like that, by having both characters be teachers and students. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That was, uh, that was pretty genius, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : That was very, very genius, um, and then uh, not only that, but it is a magical universe AU. Not a  _ Harry Potter _ AU, it’s not a  _ Harry Potter _ AU. This is simply a universe where magic is just a part of the fabric of reality. And there are people who are adept and capable of using magic and then there are everybody else. So...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] And you do not call them muggles. JK Rowling got it wrong.

 

DARKWICCAN : You don’t call them muggles.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That’s just rude.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. You call them non-magic persons.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s, it’s gender non-specific and it’s not a slur. Um, but [laughter]...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...I, so, so, Nicole is instructing a self-defense course and Waverly...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...is instructing…[laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Sorry. Immediately I thought of that first scene when they’re in, when Chrissy...oh my god. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] What?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] So, Chrissy has the ability to, I, is it read minds, or just read people, but...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : …[laughter] “geez Waverly, you’re a thirsty bitch.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, this is just another example. I mean, this is, this, it is a one-shot. Uh.

 

DELAYNE : It’s over twenty thousand words, but it’s a one-shot.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s a one-shot, and Boots is just at her absolute top form here.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, there was one thing, there was one turn of phrase that just made me absolutely guffaw when I heard it. So, as we said, Nicole is teaching a self-defense class. Just a standard, human, non-magic self-defense class. And, and Waverly is teaching a class on curse and curse breaking. And, uh, Nicole, despite being human, so far as they can tell, um, as far as she’s ever known, has been given entrance into Waverly’s magic class um, as part of a, not exchange program, but sort of a liaison program with local law enforcement. Because if law enforcement, if non-magic law enforcement is, comes in contact with magical criminal, they’re going to need to know the basics of how to at least avoid, ya know, having a curse thrown at them or something. So.

 

DELAYNE : That makes sense. It’s pretty good reasoning for [laughter] Nicole to be at the magic school. As a...

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. Exactly.

 

DELAYNE : ...non-magic person. [laughter] One of my favorite things, actually is in the tags.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : In the relationships, of course, the main ship is Waverly and Nicole. But also...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...my next favorite relationship might be Wynonna Earp and puns. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause that’s what Boots listed [laughter].

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Yes, of course, Wynonna is there flinging puns, left and right.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : When she’s in a scene. It would be weird if she was just...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...yelling puns out. [laughter] Uh, but, again, uh, Boots is just, oh man. She knows these characters so well, and she has their voices down so perfectly that ya know, everything they said is like “yeah, I can totally, I can totally hear Dominique saying that line as Waverly, or I can totally hear Kat saying that line as Nicole or Melanie as Wynonna. I can totally hear it, I absolutely can.” And, um, so, yeah, there’s a quirk that I absolutely adore that Waverly has whenever she’s around Nicole...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and she’s trying, trying to keep herself together, and she accidentally magics things into existence. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] This caused some great scenes. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Oh my god. Um, oh, I’m trying to think of them all, ‘cause the first one was a bird right?

 

DARKWICCAN : I think the first one was a parakeet. And then another one was a little hamster...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...or gerbil or something, and then.

 

DELAYNE : Then there were some vines right?

 

DARKWICCAN : But they’re all like, like, yeah, some vines. And they’re always like a really bright, hot neon color. Like they’re not normal, like animal or flora fauna color.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It’s not like “haha I did a cute little magic trick”, no it’s like an obvious like “what the fuck” ya know. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, yes. And uh, I, [laughter] I love the fact that, so we start down this road and it really is kind of a high comedy...

 

DELAYNE : Oh yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...situation. Where you have Waverly popping off accidental magic left and right and you’ve got Nicole playing off her perfect charm.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, like, ridiculously perfect charm. You have Waverly trying to um, ya know, uh, trying to keep...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...her shit together and failing and it’s just, and you’ve got Wynonna not helping at all.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And it’s just...

 

DELAYNE : And you have Chrissy encouraging it as well.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...really, really funny.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : You’ve got Chrissy rah rah-ing, yeah. And so, it’s just so much fun, ya know, and you’re just bopping along, and then all of the sudden, you get your first inkling that something more may be going on when Waverly has a rather disturbing dream. And then the farther you get into the story and this dark stuff starts to filter in and you’re like “woah, what’s happening? What’s going on right now?” And then finally when we finally get the reveal, uh, of what’s been happening and that something, that I shall not explain...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...is after a certain character. When we discover that certain character’s providence, it is amazing.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It is the most perfect thing I have ever read in my life and I didn’t know that I needed it in my life, until Boots had written it...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and it’s so typical of Boots, to show me something I didn’t know that I needed and then realize I wanted it my entire life.

 

DELAYNE : Ah. Should we talk about how, I don’t know if this is too spoilery, but uh, when you said you thought it was going one way...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...and there were a few hints here and there about the concern about when a non-magic person is with a magic person, how accidental love spells happen.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ah, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : So, my brain was thinkin’, when it goes, that’s where it’s gonna go.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ooh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] You didn’t pick up on that?

 

DARKWICCAN : I didn’t, ya know, I knew that. Well, here’s the thing. We all know that WayHaught is end game, right?

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I think that I sort of didn’t really follow that red herring because it just was like “well, that’s not the case here because come on, they’re soulmates in every universe so.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And I found the line, I found the line that made me laugh out loud.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Here we go. So, Nicole introduces herself, “‘My name is Nicole. Welcome to self-defense one oh one.’ Waverly sighed and smiled a little as her eyes landed on the redhead. Nicole, what a nice name. Complimented her muscles.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I think I paused at that one too.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I was like, “wait, what?” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] “what? How does? How?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] “Complimented her muscle”.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Oh my gosh. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But yeah, so it’s just, just line after line, especially in the opening, uh, quarter of the story is just hilarious and, and so vivid and it’s like “yeah, I totally get, yeah”. ‘Cause you can totally, I can see the look on her face.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I can see the look on Waverly’s face when she’s appraising Nicole at the front of the class.

 

DELAYNE : So can Chrissy, but she can also read the thoughts. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s right.

 

DELAYNE : Oh. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, so, once again, as I’ve been saying, repeatedly, Boots is just in great form, and it’s really no wonder that she is going to be a published author now because her writing truly is just...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...immense and she’s so brilliant and she’s so creative and it’s just really really wonderful to see this incredibly talented uh, author, ya know, get her moment to be in print. She’s got a book coming out called “Queerleaders” um, from Bella Books, and I am so, so proud of her and so excited.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And uh...

 

DELAYNE : Definitely buying that and getting it autographed as soon as I can. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, oh yeah. Oh, for sure. Oh, for sure. [laughter] I want her to autograph my copy and I want Minnie, her dog, to autograph it too.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ah, Minnie would be offended that, that you’re asking Boots, also, to sign it ‘cause ya know. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, that’s true. That’s true. We all know who the, ok, true, [staged whisper] we all know who the real brains of the operation is, and I don’t think that Boots is gonna deny it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But ya know what, we can absolutely ask her because uh, I have used this amazing story “Wouldn’t You Love to Love Her” as an excuse to bring Boots back on the show.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, so, we’re gonna be talking to her in the second half of the show and not only are we gonna be talking about this wonderful, hilarious story that everybody has got to...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...go read right now, we’re also gonna be talking about her book coming out with Bella Books, “Queerleaders”, so I am super, super [sing songy] excited to get to that, uh, but before we do we have to introduce this week’s reverse sponsor.

 

DELAYNE : This week’s reverse sponsor is VikingElf.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story and Wharf to Wilds  by Darren Korb

 

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MUSIC : 

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am still your host, DarkWiccan, and with me, hastily passing notes in class is bestfriend and cohost--

 

DELAYNE : [loud] Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] And we are so excited because we managed to get one of the prolific and incredible and just generally all around awesome authors to come back on the show, took a little bit of finagling, took a little bit of bribery, but we got her here. The fantastic author of “Wouldn’t You Love to Love Her”, bootsncatz.

 

BOOTS : Hello, thank you for reading that intro I paid you to say on the air. [snicker]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : No, no, I was doing it for free, remember?

 

BOOTS : Oh, right, right.

 

DARKWICCAN : It was part of the bribery agreement.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : My bad, my bad. No money was exchanged for that flattery.

 

DARKWICCAN : No money was exchanged. [clears throat]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Boots, it is so wonderful to have you back on the show.

 

BOOTS : It’s good to be back...

 

DARKWICCAN : You...

 

BOOTS : ...with my little microphone finally working.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Your microphone that’s working this time.

 

BOOTS : I know, it’s a miracle.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Little improvements everytime, everytime. But the next time we have you on, you’ll have your own home studio setup.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : I’ll be in, like, one of those padded closets.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly.

 

BOOTS : My house actually use to have one of those, like, padded closet audio booths, but we’re like “we don’t need this”, so I ripped it out.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Aww. Can you...did you keep any of the audio uh, padding? Can you send it to me?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : All the egg carton stuff on the walls, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : All the egg cartons, yeah.

 

BOOTS : Unfortunately not.

 

DARKWICCAN : Aww, bummer. That stuff’s expensive, man. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : I know, that’s what CraigsList told me, too.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, Boots, you have just been writin’ up a storm since the last time we talked with you. Just constantly writing just top notch, insanely good, like, did you make a deal with the devil excellent...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...storytelling, uh...

 

BOOTS : [laughter] It’s more like I just don’t sleep then I just write a lot of stupid stuff that ends up working out in the end, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Um.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, you just never stop writing, right?

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I mean, like, I recall when I came down to LA last year to see my Dad’s show, and you were so kind as to let me crash out in your guest room, that um, uh, you basically, you were just writing, writing, writing all the time. To the point where your wife would be, like, driving and you would still be writing in the car when you were going places. So, you just don’t stop.

 

BOOTS : No, it’s so helpful having a chauffeur taking me everywhere, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter] That’s the reason you married her.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : To have her drive you around...

 

BOOTS : I was like...

 

DARKWICCAN : To have some eyes on the road.

 

DELAYNE : ...That’s why my wife married me, apparently. [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I always drive. Oh, no, she has her new truck now, so she drives. It’s fantastic. [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] No, now she’s invested in the uh, in the whole idea of driving ‘cause she has...

 

DELAYNE : Exactly.

 

BOOTS : [laugher]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...a nice Toyota to drive around.

 

DELAYNE : A toy taco, even.

 

BOOTS : That always, always helps.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but Boots, not only have you been writing tons of incredible fanfiction, you also have written your first uh, not necessarily your first. May not be your first original work, but definitely your first work that you’re having published.

 

BOOTS : Uh, yes. It’s definitely the first...

 

DARKWICCAN : Which is amazing.

 

BOOTS : ...it’s definitely the first original work that I finished. Uh.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Fair.

 

BOOTS : Yeah. As far as novels go. I have many, as everyone in LA does, I have a stack of scripts that I’ll use as fire kindling some day, but uh, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] But, I mean, that’s what it’s all about. It’s just the trial and error and just, uh, follow...you know, your muse will strike you with something and you start writing it and you go until you reach the conclusion of the story or your muse just goes “meh, I don’t know what I was thinkin’”. Either way.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : I think, before it came down to a lot of just poor writing practices on, like for myself. Like, I didn’t outline. I’d be like “who needs an outline? Only losers.” And then I wouldn’t finish anything, and I was like “I guess I’m a loser and I need one now.” But no, outlines are the best and they saved my life. Like, everyone should, ya know, obviously everyone’s writing process is super different, but ya know, it’s super helpful just to know where you’re going. 

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, ya know.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Outlines, I, I, I, outlines are one of those things where they work really, really well for some folks, or they just cause major problems for other folks. I’m in the latter camp. If I do an outline, my brain decides I’ve written the story already, and it won’t let me...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...sit down and actually write the story.

 

BOOTS : Yeah, and see, there you go. And see, for me, if I don’t have an outline, ‘cause I like jumping around, I’m very A D D in my stories, so I like jumping around to different sections or like scenes that I love more than others, and so I fill in those parts first, and it makes me feel like I actually got somewhere. Like, “oh, I guess I actually gotta write this other bullet point over here”, but I get it done and it connects, and ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s really, that’s cool. I like that. I like that writing style.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Where, or that approach, I should say. Where you write the scenes that you’re most excited about and then you add the connective tissue.

 

BOOTS : Yeah. I would say a lot of my outlines to, in the, like, after I wrote ya know, bullet point by bullet point, chapter by chapter, the bottom is just, like, lines that came to me that I really wanna use, or just, like, little sections of dialogue that I know I want in there, and then I’ll just find where it fits in the rest of it. Um, as I go. Like, “oh, this’ll work here” and I’ll just shove it in, ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s great. I really like that. That’s really cool.

 

DELAYNE : I, uh, didn’t realize how, uh, informative this podcast episode would be.

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : This is great. Like, should I be taking notes? Is there a test after? [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, Delayne, I forgot to tell you...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...there is a test after, um, and it will be essay form, so no multiple choice, so.

 

DELAYNE : Aagh. Where’s my little blue book? [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I would...yeah. [laughter] So, so, let’s talk a little bit about, uh, “Wouldn’t You Love to Love Her”...

 

BOOTS : Sure.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...uh, the WayHaught, uh, fic that you, uh, wrote, that is the fantastic student-teacher AU, and then if it’s ok, I’d love to chat about “Queerleaders” which is the book that you’re having published later this year.

 

BOOTS : Yeah, of course.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome. Alright.

 

DELAYNE : I know DW doesn’t read authors’ notes very often, but I do [laughter]...

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...and I want to know what is this plot hole that Lucky made you fix? [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter] It’s funny, ‘cause when I told Lucky these questions, she was like, “yeah, what was that plot hole?” I was like “oh, like you don’t remember”. [laughter] It was, so, those succubus really, kind of, didn’t serve a purpose...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : ...I guess you could argue she still doesn’t. Other than just pure drama, ‘cause when I started writing it, I thought I had finished it. I had gotten, it basically went from “they make out a little in the basement” to “oh no, Nicole’s been kidnapped”. And so there was just none of that other stuff in between there.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : And then, um, and then, so, Lucky was like “uh, I’m not really...I think you should do something”. And I was like “fine”. So, then I went back and rewrote all that other stuff, but it was just hard trying to connect why, like, the succubus. There was no reason for the succubus to take Nicole at first. It was like “well, why does she keep her alive instead of, like, killing her? Why doesn’t she, is she, like, trying to lure Waverly there or Wynonna there for some reason?” Like, there was literally no reason for her.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter] She was just there.

 

DELAYNE : Nicole just gets kidnapped. Why not.

 

BOOTS : Yeah. She just...

 

DARKWICCAN : So... 

 

BOOTS : ...gets kidnapped.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...so, this was like a major plot hole. This was like...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter] Yeah. No, it was pretty, it was pretty egregious, like, it was so bad and like I knew it before I sent, I told Lucky I was done, I was like “yeah, this is not gonna fly, but eh maybe I’ll try”. Ya know when you try to pass something off hoping no one notices?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : It, it was like that. So.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so, following up on that.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I have to wonder then, if the fact that you had no reason for the succubus to begin with, is that where the idea of making, no, the Nicole part leprechaun came from?

 

BOOTS : Vaguely. So, that, I also can’t take credit, entire credit for the leprechaun situation because, so, Lucky and I do this thing where we just go back and forth with like stupid ideas and then...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : ...once in awhile it’ll turn into something...

 

DELAYNE : [clears throat]

 

BOOTS : ...cool and so we were just, she, I don’t remember what it was, there was something in the fic that she was like, “Nicole has, like, weird stupid luck. Like, what if she was a fucking leprechaun?” And I was like “oh shit.” And then we started going back and forth. She always has exact change for things. Like, she always gets the bare minimum on lottery tickets. And just like stupid stuff back and forth, I was like “ok, this is going in there.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : And then it did, it did kinda work out in the sense that the, that whole thread led to the whole succubus situation because then I went back, ‘cause I wanted them to figure out she was a leprechaun before she got taken.

 

DELAYNE : [clears throat]

 

BOOTS : So then I went and flushed out their relationship a bit more and, um, made them more of a thing before she got taken so they could figure out, “ooh, she wants her leprechaun treasures, or whatever”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : Innuendo totally intentional. So.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, like, uh, uh, uh, sorry Delayne, I’m...

 

DELAYNE : Go for it. Go for it.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...gonna jump ahead of ya ‘cause I gotta, I wanna...yeah. So, so the thing I loved about the whole Nicole as leprechaun thing, is it immediately made me think of the giant leprechaun from “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman ‘cause that was the first time I’d ever encountered a story where there is a leprechaun, but they’re like six feet tall.

 

BOOTS : Oh my gosh.

 

DARKWICCAN : And like, yeah, we’re not tiny. [laughter] So, I just love this notion of Nicole being this five nine leprechaun who didn’t...

 

BOOTS : Gigantic leprechaun.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

BOOTS : Yeah. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. And I in no way mean to imply that you got the idea from “American Gods” at all, for me it just twigged that memory, and gave me a nice chuckle.

 

BOOTS : No, I mean, I, either way, ya know, people borrow things from other things all the time. I have not read “American Gods”, but Lucky’s been bothering me to read “American Gods”.

 

DARKWICCAN : [whispers] It’s so good. It’s so good.

 

BOOTS : So, maybe she was inspired by the...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, awesome.

 

BOOTS : ...six foot leprechaun in “American Gods”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

BOOTS : And she just didn’t tell me. Well, now I know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Immediately after we sign off...

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...this interview, your texting Lucky, “Lucky!” [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter] Exactly.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Oh, when a beta gets called out on the show. Good times. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : No, it’s fine. She probably, honestly, she might have said, too, ‘cause she’s been talking to me about “American Gods” for a few weeks now, um, so she might have said, “hey, in ‘American Gods’” and I just totally like glazed over that part of it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : This could be completely on me. It probably is.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Uh, I liked all the little mentions about, oh my gosh when you have a non-magic user with a magic user you have this...

 

BOOTS : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...major potential for a love spell to happen on the non-magic user, so, uh...

 

BOOTS : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ... was this a purposeful red herring, or had you considered actually going that direction at one point?

 

BOOTS : Um, it was more of a, a very small worldbuilding kind of detail. Um, because I did try to make this world not necessarily something, it’s, I’m not borrowing this world from, like, another universe, ya know, it’s not like when I wrote my Hogwarts AU, where the rules are already kind of there for me? So, I just wanted this very modern, very um, different kind of magic world that these people live in, and so, in, in doing that, obviously it was just a one-shot and I didn’t have all this worldbuilding time, so I just tried to put little things in here and there. Um, so that was kind of one of the little things that I wanted to put in to kind of get an idea of like where the world was. Ya know, non-magic users and magic users, they exist in harmony for the most part, but they, there are still like limitations between them because of, ya know, they’re magical powers versus non-magical powers. Um, and also, I kind of implied in there that there was an Earp curse still, and that was, I wanted that to be because of, ya know, the Earps constantly, ya know, having babies with non-magic people and stuff like that, and that was why their family was super cursed. Was it just, that just kept happening to them, and um, and that’s why they have all this weird, bad shit happening to them all the time.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ok.

 

BOOTS : Yeah, so, I, I, I, did also wanna kinda make it a, a thing where another reason why Lucado would be like “you cannot, for many reasons, do this….

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : ...and this is just one of them.”

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Nevermind that it’s student-teacher, but also, all of these other reasons.

 

BOOTS : Also, all these other horrible reasons, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I just, uh, building off, [lowers voice] building off of the worldbuilding there, [normal voice] um, what made you decide that you were gonna make this a universe with magic, but not go down the road of it being, ya know, the wizarding world?

 

BOOTS : Uh, well, I already wrote a Hogwarts fanfiction.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Been there, done that, check that off.

 

BOOTS : Been there, done that, and um, I don’t know, I just love, I mean, when I was thinking of the idea of the student-teacher one, I was like “yeah, but what would make it not, like, all the other ones out there? Like, what is one little thing I could do that would make it slightly different?” And, um, honestly, the easiest answer was giving them magic ‘cause I love magic and I love the idea of Waverly as a witch, I will not let that go ever.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : We’ve maybe visited that a few times haven’t we. [laughter]

 

BOOTS : Yeah, yeah. I love, love that idea, it just makes so much sense in my head, and um, and, so I just wanted another excuse to have her do cool magic, really.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, and occasionally uh, weird, hormonal magic.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : Exactly. Exactly.

 

DARKWICCAN : Where she’s just manifesting small creatures.

 

BOOTS : [laughter] Weird, almost pre-pubescent magic.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

BOOTS : Ya know, without it getting explicit, ya know.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] We were talking in the first, in the first half of the show about, Delayne was saying how she was really enjoying the fact that Chrissy could read minds.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And she just turns and looks at Waverly and is like “girl!”. [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Sorry, that line, “Waverly, you thirsty bitch.” I died.

 

BOOTS : [laughter] I just love that. I just love Chrissy anyways, and so making Chrissy sassy, and she can read Waverly’s mind, I’m like “ah, it’s amazing, I love, I’ll write that all day.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That was, again, Boots, you’re just so brilliant at yet another stroke of genius on your part for the storytelling.

 

BOOTS : Well, thank you. Lots of drugs have got me to this point.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : I’m just playing. That’s not true. Don’t do drugs.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Don’t do drugs, kids. Don’t do drugs. Just say no.

 

BOOTS : Don’t do drugs, just say no to drugs.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

BOOTS : Unless you want a good time, no, seriously.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Ah, ok, so, uh, if it’s ok, I’m gonna...

 

BOOTS : Sure.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...move us along because I’m really, really anxious to chat with you about “Queerleaders”, um, first of all, how did the opportunity for, for this story, uh, for getting it published, how’d that come about?

 

BOOTS : It was, it was all, ya know, the wonderful Earpers on the Twitterverse, honestly. So, I saw this contest through Bella Books, and it was the uh, fanfiction to published author contest, and ya know, I never enter things like that because I’m like “ah, so many people are gonna enter or so many people are better than me. blah blah blah.” But then a couple of people were like “just do it. What are you gonna lose? Like, what are you gonna lose? You already have it written.” ‘Cause I was in the middle of writing “From Hell to Purgatory” at that point, and they were like “you already have this stuff written, just do it. Ya know, it doesn’t hurt.” I was like “ok, fine.” So, I put in, literally like last minute, right under the wire, I put in a section of “From Hell to Purgatory” and then I got a, ya know, a message a few months later and they were like “oh, you’re one of the three that got picked.” And I was like “oh, really? Are you sure?”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : And they were like “yeah”, and um, and so they, they told me how it was gonna work, that they were gonna, it was gonna go live later in the day and they were gonna vote, and um, yeah, I hadn’t written a whole lot at that point, but I went to my group chat, which was the SoCal Earpers group chat at that point, and um, I was like “hey guys, I’m kind of in this weird contest and so if you could just click on my thing” I was like “I might as well, like, ya know, try a little bit.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : So, I was like “if you could just click, vote for me that’d be great.” I was thinking “oh, at least I won’t, ya know, die with no votes. At least I’ll get a couple.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Right.

 

BOOTS : And then um, they were just so sweet and they posted it on the actual Twitterverse and ya know, a lot of people ended up voting and I ended up winning, which was, it was very humbling.

 

DARKWICCAN : So awesome.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : It was a very humbling experience and I may, may have cried a little bit. Uh, from the joy of it all. But, that’s what happened.

 

DELAYNE : So.

 

BOOTS : Then they were like, “ok, go write a book”. And I was like “ok”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : So, Earpers no chilled their way to you winning the contest.

 

BOOTS : Yeah. Yes.

 

DELAYNE : That is on brand.

 

BOOTS : I owe it all. All to Earpers.

 

DARKWICCAN : Earpers are frickin’, I love Earpers.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh man. As an Earper, I love Earpers.

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Earpers are just the best.

 

BOOTS : Mhmm. The best people. I’ve never been in a fandom really before this, but I don’t think I could ever be in another one now after this. I feel like it’s such an amazing and unique experience that I don’t think I could go anywhere else.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, absolutely. Totally spoiled. Totally spoiled.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I think any other fandom will, would pale in comparison to the amazingness that is the Earper family, for sure.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Ok, knowing that the Earpers had your back, was it, was it difficult for you at all, to write original characters instead of using existing ones from a, from a show?

 

BOOTS : Um, no.

 

DELAYNE : [clears throat]

 

BOOTS : I’ve never really, I say this now and I feel like I’m shooting myself in the foot by saying this, ‘cause then people are gonna read it and they’re gonna be like “these characters are shit”, but I’ve never really had a problem with characters and voices, um, I listen a lot to random people...

 

DELAYNE : [clears throat]

 

BOOTS : ...everywhere, so I have all these, these constantly different voices, like, running in my head.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : Not like a crazy person, but maybe a little bit, so I just, like, ya know, [laughter] there’s a lot of interesting people out here in LA and so it’s fun to listen to them and just like use them really. I use them as characters, so it’s not really making up my own characters as much as highjacking other people’s personalities that I meet out in the wild that don’t know I’m doing it. So.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] What inspired uh, the two characters, the two main characters for “Queerleaders”?

 

BOOTS : Uh, the, the one, the one main character, Mack, is kind of, I hesitate to say she’s, she’s me, but I did kind of draw a lot of what I kind of wish my life could have been like in high school. Not with the drama of “I’m gonna date a bunch of cheerleaders”, but just like the, the very much being, knowing who she is and not being deterred by that and just being very um, just being herself and she has her one bestfriend, Lila, who, I actually don’t know who I got Lila from. I think Lila just kind of popped up, besides Mack, as I was writing her, but um, ya know, they just love each other so much as friends and they’re each other’s everything, and I just, ya know, I think that’s just what I wish I had in high school, and that’s kind of where that came from. ‘Cause they always say, someone told me once, “write what you wish you had when you were this age”, and this is what I wish I had when I was this age. I wish I had a book like this, or I wish I had, ya know, characters like this, that I felt I could see myself in that I um, ya know, could find some comfort in, that I’m not alone. Ya know?

 

DARKWICCAN : That is such better advice than “write what you know”.

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s like “write what you know” doesn’t apply to, like, genre fiction.

 

BOOTS : Yeah. [laughter] I mean, I guess, in like a vaguest sense of the word you could, like, “I went on a really long road trip once and they are going on a really long space road trip.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : Yeah, yeah, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Where we’re going, you don’t need [unintelligible].

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] But, no, I think, “write what you wish you had”, I think that is brilliant advice. That is absolutely wonderful advice because it just opens up the door for so much more possibility and creativity.

 

BOOTS : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Than just the classic “write what you know” getup.

 

DELAYNE : Write what you want to read, or write what you wanted, or wish you could have read when you were younger, especially.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly.

 

BOOTS : Like, I think having just, just stupid, stupid YA fiction for queers. Like, little, little queers, like I needed that growing up and I didn’t have it and ya know, I just wanna hopefully, ya know, some poor kid in high school in the middle of nowhere will ya know, pick up a queer YA novel and they’ll just feel not as isolated as, ya know, they might. Ya know?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Is this universe you’ve create, sort of created for “Queerleaders”, again, we don’t really know anything about it, but...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...it’s not out yet, but is it something that you think that you might be able to expound upon and create a series of books, or, and kind of create your own version, queer version of the babysitters club...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...or the traveling pants or something?

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, or just a one and done and you’re gonna move on to the next idea?

 

BOOTS : Uh, I have considered writing a follow-up to this, but I feel like um, I also, it’s it’s set in the real world, ya know, vaguely real world of like a nineties high school movie, um, and...

 

DARKWICCAN : Love it.

 

BOOTS : ...and so I kind of like the idea of it ending where it ends because then it ends on a happy note, as these things usually do, and everyone’s happy, and in love and whatever. And I think that that’s a good place to end it because if I had to bring it back, I would have to bring some kind of drama for them...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm.

 

BOOTS : ...and while that is very real for them, especially high school relationships going into college and stuff, I, I just like the idea of being happy and letting them live in their happy little world together. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s very sweet, that’s very sweet, and that’s also, I don’t wanna say generous, but it’s very caring of you to kind of think, ya know what, I wanna protect not only the characters, but also the readers to some point.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : To some degree.

 

BOOTS : These characters are very precious. They’re very close to me, um, I’ve been living with this story for, ah, since like two thousand twelve, I think. I wrote it as a screenplay, as a musical at first, as a screenplay, so these characters I’ve been living with for awhile now, so they’re very close to my heart and I don’t wanna see them hurt. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s so wonderful.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, so, so there is, ya know, quite an involved process in getting a book published. Uh, what was your favorite part about this process?

 

BOOTS : Um, I mean, I guess the, what will be my favorite part has not happened yet, which is where I’ll have a, hopefully a book in my hand where I can be like “oh, shit, I wrote this”, um.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : And it’s like physical, ya know, as much as you can look at however many pages on a Google doc, it’s not the same as holding it in your hands and being like “oh damn, like, this is mine and I wrote it.” But just like the whole process has been very interesting and it’s definitely been a learning experience, um, they’ve been very nice, Bella Books. They kind of let me just do my thing, they weren’t like breathing down my neck, or ya know, constantly asking me for updates, or anything. Like, at first I sent them a couple chapters and I think they wanted to make sure that one, I was writing it, and two, that it wasn’t going completely off the rails.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : I think...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : ...I think once they knew that, ya know, that I was writing it and that I had an idea of where it was going and I had an outline and I had a plan, I think that they, um, instilled a lot of trust in me, that I would just get it done, and that was like The greatest gift that they could have given me. Is just letting me do my thing, um, and so I’ve spent about, uh, way longer than I usually spend writing things. I think I spent almost a year writing this, and then pass it off to them  and now they are in the process of editing it and they’ll give me back my edits, and we’ll go from there, but um, so far the process has been very, a, a very learning experience of what I can force myself to do. I realized that when I’m not posting weekly, I let myself go too long without writing that specific thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm.

 

BOOTS : So, I realized that for myself, I need to be more accountable when I don’t have expectations like “well, you gotta post this next week”, that I can keep going, and keep writing that instead of just being like “eww I’ll get back to that later.”

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s good.

 

BOOTS : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN :  That’s good to have a schedule and a deadline that you’re working toward.

 

BOOTS : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : I know what you’re talking about there, and it...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...is very motivational.

 

BOOTS : Yeah, very, very motivational.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, Boots, this has been amazing having you back on the show. I always adore having you on the show, uh, and uh, I am so, I think we’re both very, very, very excited for you and for “Queerleaders”, and I cannot wait to buy my copy and have you and Minnie autograph it. I want Minnie to autograph it too.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : Minnie charges an arm and a leg for autographs, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, does she? Alright.

 

BOOTS : Yeah, her agent’s a real bitch.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : At least, at least three milkbones and a couple of jerky sticks kind of.

 

BOOTS : Yeah, and if you want a, like a photo op then it requires a bully stick. It’s very.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, those are expensive. Yeah.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, good for her for knowing what she, ya know, her value and what she can, what she can get.

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, yeah, at least an autograph from you then. I guess I’ll let the Minnie autograph slide for now.

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but, but yeah, it’s super, super exciting and couldn’t happen to a better person and uh, just, just cheers to you, my friend. It is just so, so wonderful.

 

BOOTS : Thank you, it means a lot, it really does.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but before we let you go, of course, we must now hit you with the hardball question.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And we can’t ask you the same questions that we’ve asked you before.

 

BOOTS : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so we had to come up with something really, really hard.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Of course.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I’m gonna make Delayne ask you.

 

DELAYNE : So, you are stranded on a desert island and you can have only one original queer novel to read, what is it?

 

BOOTS : [sigh] So, I’m, uh, god, I’m the worst. I haven’t read a lot of queer novels, um, I don’t know if it’s just I haven’t really found them or what have you, but I would have to say that I would have to take “Wicked” with me because ya know, it, I, my copy, I’m sitting right here next to my copy actually...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : ...and if I went through it right now, it would just be highlights of all the gay stuff that I...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : ...pulled out of it.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : Because I was convinced, ‘cause I read it in, I think, high school, and I was like “I’m gonna write a paper on, ya know at my very Catholic high school, I’m gonna write a paper on how gay this book is.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : And so I highlighted all the stuff, oh yeah, it’s a mess.

 

DELAYNE : That’s fantastic.

 

BOOTS : So, I’d have to say “Wicked”.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That, that, ya know what, I will totally give that to you because it’s not quote technically a queer novel, but...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...it is definitely a queer novel, yeah.

 

BOOTS : I’m just saying, they were in a train together and they cuddled and there was kissing, ok, it’s gay.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

BOOTS : It’s not gay, gay, gay, gay, gay...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : ...but it’s...

 

DARKWICCAN :  It’s implicitly gay.

 

BOOTS : ...yeah, yes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN :  Yeah. With a little bit of main text gay...

 

BOOTS : I have.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...but.

 

BOOTS : Yeah. I have a half written high school essay about how gay it is.

 

DELAYNE : Half written ‘cause you had to change direction with that?

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s fantastic.

 

BOOTS : I had to change direction. Surprisingly, my school was not into an essay about a gay book, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Oh, man.

 

DARKWICCAN : And “Wicked” is by Jeffrey Maguire?

 

DELAYNE : Uh.

 

BOOTS : Uh, Gregory Maguire.

 

DELAYNE : I know it’s Maguire, I always forget the first name.

 

DARKWICCAN : I was thinking...

 

BOOTS : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Alright, “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire, I am more than happy to provide a link to the book on Amazon, so that the folks if they wanna download it to their Kindles for a couple bucks can do so, but I’m pretty sure that plenty of our listeners already have a hard copy...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

BOOTS : I’m sure.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...sitting on their shelves already. Well, Boots, thank you so much uh, for coming on the show and I can’t wait to have my own hardcopy...

 

BOOTS : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...of your debut YA novel, “Queerleaders”.

 

BOOTS : [laughter] Well, I am very excited, I can’t wait either.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that's it for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for tuning in. Tremendous thanks to Bootsncatz for joining us once again to talk about her incredible work. Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story and Wharf to Wilds  by Darren Korb

 

Mrs. Santello's Old Records by Alec Holowka

 

and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

  
  


If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	26. Why Not Wynaught?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week Delayne and DW wade into the purely speculative as they share their favorite non-canon pairings and then sit down with author tumblruserpailylove to discuss their Wynaught fic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/why-not-wynaught)

 

Read the Fics!

[In Her Own Wynonna Kind Of Way by tumblruserpailylove](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16676497)

 

[Christmas in a Coma by Bootsncatz](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16976340)

 

[The Thing About Being You by murdochinthetardis](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14906891)

 

Episode Artwork by Chantal Zeegers

 

tumblruserpailylove's Desert Island Fic Selection: [Fire & Rain, by gaypurgatory and wynhaaught](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14193300)

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [ApproxTenCats](http://efapodcast.com/twitter.com/ApproxTenCats)

Ep 226: Why Not Wynaught? 

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

(but I never use them so I’m not sure why I leave this here)

 

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN: Hey everybody and welcome everybody to another episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to Wynonna Earp fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me is my delightful co-host...

DELAYNE: Hi, it’s Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: And this week we are taking on… canon.  

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: No non-canons.  Wait. We’re not talking about armaments.

DELAYNE: [laughs] We are shipping hard here, but there are no armaments.  We’re talking about non-canons.

DARKWICCAN: Non-canons.  

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

DARKWICCAN: So non-canon, what the heck do we mean.  Well we’re talking about non-canon pairings. And specifically in this context romantic pairings.

DELAYNE: Yes. [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: And, I mean, there are a few non-canon pairings in the Wynonna Earp fandom. 

DELAYNE: That some people are die hard for.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah. Yeah.  And I’m like whhyyyy? But hey, no judgement zone, to each their own, people pick up on connections all the time and I think that that’s completely valid, why not.  I mean for years and years and years fanfic has existed in this world of making ships where we would see them being hinted at on-screen but there was never any follow through.  

DELAYNE: Isn’t that pretty much the start of fanfiction, originally called slash fiction.

DARKWICCAN: Mmhmm, whether it’s straight pairings or queer pairings fanfiction I think came out of this desire to, you know, you’re frustrated, you want to see these two characters together, you’re not seeing them on screen so you’re going to take the world in your own hands and make it happen.  That’s the basis of modern fanfiction, I can’t say that’s the basis of fanfiction in memoria. But that is the basis more or less for modern pop culture based fanfiction. So this is kind of celebrating that a little bit but within, of course, the Wynonna Earp universe because we are the E _ arp Fiction Addiction _ .

DELAYNE: [laughs] Not the fan fiction… [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Not just the Fan Fanfiction Addiction.  That’s a whole other huge herculean undertaking that I just don’t have in me.

DELAYNE: That would be so difficult because your followers would tend towards certain shows and certain ships so if you did a wide variety I can’t imagine anyone would want to, they would only listen to the episodes they would be interested in.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, so we like to keep it simple here at the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ and stick within the lines of Earp fanfiction.  But we’re branching out from the Wayhaught pairing today because again we are talking about non-canon pairings and the first story we’re talking about, now the pairing might surprise you.  You’re like, “oh oh, you’re starting with that pairing? Okay.” And I’m going to say yes, I am, because I want to shake things up a little bit. So the first story, and okay, let me just say that I love this author’s name a lot.  The first story is called  _ The Thing About Being You _ by murdochinthetardis.  And it is a Bobo Del Rey/Doc Holliday pairing.  Now this is a really clever use of a classic classic trope, it is essentially the Freaky Friday trope where you have two characters who body swap, so it’s a body swap story. 

DELAYNE: Have we done?  We haven’t done a body swap have we?

DARKWICCAN: No we haven’t. I’m going to write that down for season three, just marking it down to remind myself, body swap.  Okay. So this story, basically through a calamity, but not Jane, [Delayne laughs hysterically] calamity in the small sense of the word.

DELAYNE: You’re just so damn funny today, I don’t know.

DARKWICCAN: It is a situation where Bobo and Doc swap bodies, and swapping each others bodies has forced them each to come to face certain feelings within themselves that they have successfully managed to deny up to this point.  And that’s largely because they are having to work together as a team which inevitably will build some trust, barriers and boundaries will break down, truths will be shared and blah blah blah.

DELAYNE: Moments will be had.

DARKWICCAN: Moments will be had, yes.  So the story is not finished, it’s about eleven chapters in, just shy of 15,000 words so the chapters do move at a pretty quick clip and it’s a simply written but well told story.  We haven’t gotten into the romance aspect yet, the seeds are being laid. Oh god, bad word choices.

DELAYNE: [laughs hysterically again]

DARKWICCAN: A bad mixed metaphor

DELAYNE: I’m sorry, I laughing and the hangers are clanking in my Plaid Studio.   

DARKWICCAN: Are you recording in the closet again Delayne, are you back in the closet?

DELAYNE: It’s called the Plaid Studio thank you very much.

DARKWICCAN: Sorry, my bad, it’s just funny because both Doc and Bobo are in the closet.

DELAYNE: Yeah, I guess that’s appropriate.  

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.  Fair? Fair. Okay.  But this is rated T so it’s not gonna cross the line into something a little kinkier or anything like that.  It really is just that emotional thing right now and yeah, I have to say that it’s really clever how murdochinthetardis is writing Bobo’s voice versus Doc’s voice because you can get confused right?  Because they’re in each other’s body so it really is so vital that the dialogue be written in the characters voice so clearly that there’s never really a question of who is genuinely speaking despite what outsides they happen to be wearing at the time.  And the one time that they try really hard to pretend to be each other, it’s hilarious because they’re terrible at it, both of them, they’re terrible. I mean Bobo has a slightly easier time pretending to be Doc Holliday but Doc has a really difficult time pretending to be Bobo.  And it’s quite quite funny. And what I really love is that Wynonna is in the middle of this. She knows what’s going on at the outset and she doesn’t want the others to know what has happened. And there are reasons why, I’m not going to give those away, there are reasons why Wynonna is trying to keep it on the DL and she’s like urging the two of them to please just trying to be the person whose skin you’re wearing right now.  So it’s just quite quite funny. And there are moments that are quite sweet as well and yeah, it’s just a fun little story again, it’s unfinished, about 15,000 words right now, eleven chapters, an unknown number to go and everybody should just take a few minutes and read through  _ The Thing About Being You _ by murdochinthetardis.

DELAYNE: Alright, so, the next one I guess is a ship that seems to be fairly popular.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, I would say, yeah.

DELAYNE: And why not, because it’s Wynaught.  And that would be Wynonna and Haught.

DARKWICCAN: And we’re talking the romantic ship, not the BroTP.

DELAYNE: Yes.  Different. Different.  Very very different. Because we love some Wynaught BroTP but this is, this is,  _ Christmas in a Coma _ by Bootsincatz.  

DARKWICCAN: Yes, now before you really dive in I just have to confess that we cheated on this one a little bit.  We cheated. But it’s so so so good, that we just had to include it this week. Go ahead Delayne.

DELAYNE: So have you seen the movie  _ While You Were Sleeping? _

DARKWICCAN: I haven’t.  I actually haven’t. I’ve seen the trailer for it.  I’ve seen clips. But I’ve never actually seen the movie.

DELAYNE: So you’re not like me and have watched it more times than I can count? 

DARKWICCAN: No, no, what’s his name?  The guy with the eyebrows right? The guy with the eyebrows?

DELAYNE: Oh yeah.

DARKWICCAN: Peter Gallagher?

DELAYNE: I think so.

DARKWICCAN: That’s what I remember from the movie trailers, is that Sandra Bullock is in love with the eyebrows.

DELAYNE: She’s in love with the eyebrows, yeah.

DARKWICCAN: So that’s my entire knowledge of this movie.

DELAYNE: Well, many times on Twitter people have mentioned, “gosh, someone should turn this into a Wayhaught fic.”

DARKWICCAN: And Bootsncatz put on her cape, and answered the call.

DELAYNE: Yes, yes she did.  Because before, when I’d seen it earlier, I’d seriously tried to sit down and figure out who would be who.  And I could not make it work. So what Boots has done here is that Nicole is in the role of the main character, played by Sandra Bullock, and is in love with this person that she has never met.  In this case it’s Wynonna. With her...

DARKWICCAN: I love the way you say “Wynonna.”  I love it. It’s like my favourite thing. Okay keep going.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Damn it you threw me off.

DARKWICCAN: I’m sorry.

DELAYNE: So she’s witnessing Wynonna from afar in her patrol car as she goes into the bar and gets drunk.

DARKWICCAN: Oh, how could you not fall in love with this person?

DELAYNE: Right? Oh gosh, she is gorgeous. 

DARKWICCAN: Even when she’s stumbling drunk and drooling on herself.  What a babe!

DELAYNE: [laughs] And then there is an incident, I won’t go into the details.  Never mind it’s because I won’t remember them.

DARKWICCAN: Oh for heaven’s sake.  Wynonna hits her head, and ends up in the hospital.

DELAYNE: Yes, Wynonna gets injured, Nicole saves her, but Wynonna has been put in a medically induced coma, or is she just in the coma, I forget.  Shit.

DARKWICCAN: Shes… it doesn’t matter, she’s in a coma.

DELAYNE: The point is she is in a coma.  And Nicole, upon watching them take her into the hospital, because being a police officer she rode along being the person who saved her, she’s standing there in the entrance, ‘cause in the movie it’s, “I’m gonna marry that man” and ha ha, right because I knew this was different to the movie, Nicole mumbles to herself, “at least this will be a fun story to tell at our wedding.”  Which is overheard by nurse Chrissy.

DARKWICCAN: Ah darn nurse Chrissy Nedley and her meddling ways.

DELAYNE: “Oh well, if you’re Wynonna’s  fiancé, we’ll go ahead and let you into the room,” and then we’ll introduce you to her entire family as Wynonna’s  fiancé.  So this is how we have the… this is how we’re cheating, everyone thinks they’re fully in a relationship, Wynonna hasn’t been back home in a while, they didn’t even know she was back so they’re not surprised that she has this random fiancé that also happens to be a woman, like that’s nothing on them, they’re happy that she has someone in her life and they accept Nicole into their family.

DARKWICCAN: And it’s like really awkward because they sure are turning a blind eye to a lot of inconsistencies, but they are just so grateful that Wynonna has some stable type of person or relationship in her life that they’re “Okay”, and they’re going with it.

DELAYNE: “Sure, why not,”

DARKWICCAN: That’s not actually, I don’t really think that that’s the cheat, the cheat here is that Nicole genuinely believes that she has feelings for Wynonna...

DELAYNE: That’s true.

DARKWICCAN: Wynonna can’t reciprocate them, like literally.

DELAYNE: It’s very one-sided.

DARKWICCAN: So that’s kind of the cheat, that it’s a one-sided thing, and to add to the cheating, of course eventually Nicole meets Wynonna’s sister Waverly and this shifts from being a one-sided Wynaught to being a two-sided Wayhaught.  With complications because Nicole feels incredibly guilty about the whole thing. So it’s really really funny. It is Boots again. Is Boots ever not in top form? I swear.

DELAYNE: It’s not fair.

DARKWICCAN: I think I’m starting to wonder if Boots made some sort of a deal...

DELAYNE: With something from a different plane of existence?

DARKWICCAN: Exactly, yeah.  

DELAYNE: Whether it’s high or low, who knows.

DARKWICCAN: Who knows.  Because I mean, seriously, every single story that she puts out is just top notch.  No matter the concept.

DELAYNE: Right, didn’t we just talk about that last week?

DARKWICCAN: We did, so we won’t dwell on it, you guys know.  But yeah, and because this is essentially a re-telling, with changes of course, and not just the obvious changes, a re-telling of  _ While You Were Sleeping _ we’re not really gonna go through beat by beat because you could just go read it.

DELAYNE: Excellent plan.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, so that’s _ Christmas in a Coma _ by Bootsncatz.  Alright, so we have given you a Bobo Del Rey and Doc Holliday pairing, we’ve given you a ishy Wynaught pairing, kind of a cheat.  But now here’s a genuine Wynaught pairing story. It’s called  _ In Her Own Wynonna Kind Of Way _ by tumblruserpailylove and this is a massive story, it’s over 200,000 words long, it is 26 chapters.  It is complete. 

DELAYNE: I love it when we talk about complete ones.

DARKWICCAN: Me too.  And the premise is that Purgatory is a monarchy and Wynonna has suddenly found herself crowned queen, Waverly is Princess Waverly, and Nicole is the Captain of the Royal Guard, as promoted by Wynonna because Nicole and Wynonna have been best friends for their entire lives.  All three sisters. They’re not three sisters. It feels that way though. Both Earp sisters and Nicole have been very very close their entire lives, but especially Wynonna and Nicole.

DELAYNE: Yeah, because Waverly makes the point, “I’m the sister but it kinda seems like you’re the sister.”

DARKWICCAN: Yes, that’s why I stumbled over my words there.  But this is not like a situation where we come into this story where okay Nicole and Wynonna are best friends and within a couple of chapters they’re a romantic pairing.  This story is the definition of a slow burn.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Oh my goodness.

DARKWICCAN: And the thing is tumblruserpailylove does a fantastic job of world building with this kingdom of Purgatory with all the politics involved and other royal families in the kingdom.

DELAYNE: And the nod to canon in that we’ve still got an Earp curse...

DARKWICCAN: But it’s not THE Earp curse, it’s this universe’s Earp curse.

DELAYNE: It’s a little different.  But there’s still a lot of things that I find really neat how it’s connected, at least in wording, not necessarily in full context.

DARKWICCAN: Right, and more than anything this story is not as much about any sort of romantic relationship between Nicole and Wynonna, which does eventually come to pass, which I don’t think is a spoiler because it’s in the tags.  It is more about how Wynonna handles being a monarch when it’s the last thing in the world that she ever wanted. How she handles it in her own quote “Wynonna kind of way.” And so as I was saying tumblruserpailylove does a fantastic job of setting up this whole world and helping us to understand through the narrative what’s happening through all levels, upper levels of this monarchy and how Wynonna is approaching everything.  And through that we also see the relationships, both the friendships and the potential romance between Wynonna and Nicole, but also between Nicole and Waverly. And I think that tumblruserpailylove, I wish they had a shorter name, does a great job, I’m just going to say paileylove for now, paileylove does a great job of engaging the option of it becoming a Wayhaught story, and explores that road up until the point where it can’t go any further.  And for me this was when I really had to suspend my head-canon, or really I had to suspend fricking canon, and just drop kick it out the window, and I think this is where a lot of readers might themselves struggle, because when you know canonically that Waverly and Nicole are the true soulmates in every universe pairing, not to deny the incredible connection that Wynonna and Nicole have as friends canonically, when you’re reading a story and things seem to be going that way and you’re like, “okay, maybe I misunderstood the tags or something.”  And then it’s made very clear that no, no, no that’s not the road we’re going down. They’re not actually meant to be together, actually Wynonna and Nicole are meant to be together. There is a bit of adjustment but you know what, I adjusted, because this writing is so excellent that you may have that moment of doubt but ultimately paileylove gets you there. Paileylove goes, “no no stay with me, stick with me, trust me we’re going down the right path. And for this story, I gotta agree.

DELAYNE: There’s definitely moments like, “wait, I’ve seen the tags but which way is this going?”  You know, there’s a long time I am not sure.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, me too.  I was also like, “oh maybe this is going the other way than I thought it was going to,” and then, “no no no no no.”  But that’s good.

DELAYNE: And it’s funny because the way it starts out with the rumour mill and the tabloids.  And I guess the earlier statements, whether in regards to Wynonna or Nicole, or Wynonna or Waverly in regards to Nicole there are a lot of statements like, “ew, what? Wait? No? Why?”  Both of them.

DARKWICCAN: “She’s practically my sister, that’s disgusting,” yeah.  So, yeah. But that’s one of the reasons why I really like this story.  There are actually quite a few Wynaught pairing stories in the fic world but I would have to say that eightyish percent of the time they just exist so the author has the opportunity to make these two characters bang. [Delayne laughs]  I’m serious. And they’re just little one or two chapter stories, if that, sometimes they’re just little drabbles. And really they’re just an excuse to have these two characters engage with each other.

DELAYNE: [laughs] In an explicit rated setting.

DARKWICCAN: So that’s what I really liked about this story in that that’s not what it was about.  It’s really about the relationship between Wynonna and Nicole, and between Wynonna and Waverly as sisters, and between Nicole and Waverly as friends, and it is again so beautifully plotted and so wonderfully laid out, the whole story, that to me I’m like, “okay, this is a Wynaught story that I’m definitely, obviously, gonna get behind.”  Because it gave me something more than just the titillation of having two characters who are not canonically together, you know, boink.

DELAYNE:  And when you say more you are not kidding.  There is so much in this fic, it’s unbelievable how we have the bed sharing, both sides, we’ve got the secluded cabin in the woods but it’s all three of them.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, we’ve got a lot of classic tropes thrown into play, but everything that is brought in to the story is brought in to build the groundwork and the meaning and the depth of the relationship between Wynonna and Nicole.  It’s there so you can see what they see in each other and what the author is seeing as they’re writing. The vision that they have of this pairing that doesn’t actually exist.

DELAYNE: Well said.

DARKWICCAN: It’s really, it’s beautiful, it’s a beautiful story.  And I want to talk to tumblruserpailylove about this story. There is just so massive, I’ve just got to talk to them.  So let’s do that eh?

DELAYNE: Yeah, that sounds fantastic.  

DARKWICCAN: Awesome. [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC: The King’s Court by Kristoffer Maddigan

 

DARKWICCAN: Hey everyone and welcome back to the _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am still your host DarkWiccan and with me is my delightful co-host...

DELAYNE: Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: And we’re super psyched because we have with us today in the interview chair the author of the truly wonderful and exceptionally epic story  _ In Her Own Wynonna Kind of Way _ tumblruserpailylove who would like us to call her JANIE today, so JANIE welcome to the show.

JANIE: Thank you, thank you for having me.  I’ve gotta say this interview seat is very comfy so thank you for being so accommodating. 

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Oh good, I’m so glad that you’re comfortable, do you like the extra fluffy cushions that we got on there.

JANIE: Yeah, I like the extra blanket you threw in there, nice touch.

DARKWICCAN: Delayne actually crocheted that blanket herself.

JANIE: I like the colors, it’s great.

DELAYNE: Are you kidding me? I just ordered EFA Podcast merch from Redbubble, that’s all that is.

JANIE: I was fluffing your ego, shhh.

DARKWICCAN: Well I’m glad that you find the Meaningful Gayze pillow comfortable, and the EFA logo fluffy blanket as well.  [laughs] We do want to make sure our guests are always comfortable on the show because as I said before we are here to celebrate your work.  We wouldn’t be here without you so thank you for all your hard work and the writing that you’ve been doing. 

JANIE: Well, thank you for celebrating it.  I don’t think a lot of people realize there is this little circle where you guys continuously pump each other up, and find new fic, and celebrate maybe oddball ones or little known ones.  And it’s kind of a rare commodity in this fandom which is awesome, and the fact that you guys are celebrating it just like blows my mind so that’s cool too.

DARKWICCAN: Well, here’s the thing.  The fanfiction writing in this fandom is so spectacular we couldn’t not celebrate it.  We just got so excited about how excellent all of the the writing was, we were like, “we can’t just sit here and only read it, we have to tell people about it.”

JANIE: Right.  We get excited about something and we want to share it and who else to share it with but nerds, they’re the only ones who won’t judge us right?

DARKWICCAN: Exactly, exactly, so we have our own Earpy nerdy niche of fanfiction fans here and I am more than happy to stoke the flames for everybody. 

DELAYNE: [laughs] Here here.

DARKWICCAN: Here here.  So speaking of fanfiction, JANIE how did you get into writing fanfic, what set you off?

JANIE: Honestly, I don’t really remember, it was back in the day.  Somebody, I’m sure it was on Tumblr, mentioned a story or something and I was like, “what?”  And at the time I was in the middle of the Glee fandom and I was reading whatever this person was talking about because I didn’t know that it existed outside the show.  And somebody was like, “oh, somebody wrote this story,” and I was like, “what do you mean somebody wrote this story? It’s not a part of the show?” And that’s how I was introduced and then I was like, “well, I don’t like what the show is doing”, who honestly that watched that show liked what the show ended up?  So I just kind of took my favourite characters and did my own little thing and it just kind of started from there, and I found that I was good at it and it was fun. And I just kind of skipped fandoms from that to where I am now.

DARKWICCAN: That’s awesome.

JANIE: Yeah, I just kind of...

DELAYNE: You kind of accidentally stumbled into writing fanfiction because you’re like, “huh, this is a thing. Let’s do this.”

JANIE: Yeah.  Something exists outside of the show where people take what they do like about the show and turn it into something better a lot of times, depending on the case of the show and what’s going on.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, absolutely, and how awesome is it when you find something that you really enjoy, is a ton of fun and that you can recognise in yourself the talent that you have to continue to create within that art medium, whether it’s fan art or fanfiction, it’s such a gift not only to discover something you can do but also to recognise that you can do it well, I think.  It’s good for the ego.

JANIE: Yeah, I still don’t kinda recognise that I do it well.

DARKWICCAN: You do do it well.

JANIE: I didn’t go to school for it, I don’t have a beta, I edit all my own writing, and I just kinda write whatever I feel like, whatever I think is hilarious or entertaining.  I’m just like, “this is for me,” and then I’ll share it with my best friend and she’s like, “this is good, you should post this,” and I’m like, “are you sure people will like it?” and she’s like, “yeah just do it.”

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: So really your best friend is your beta in the sense that you are allowing them to read the story before anyone else does.

JANIE: Sometimes.  A lot of times I’ll be like, “this is the idea that I have,” and I’ll send her bits and pieces, “ha ha ha look what I just wrote,” or “what do you think of this,” but more often than not I’ll re-read my own story three or four times, edit it, post it and send her a link and be like, “what do you think?” So it’s already out there in the world so it’s not like I can change it anyway.

DARKWICCAN: Rip the bandaid off, this is going into the world.

JANIE: Pretty much.  I’m like, “it’s out there, whoopsy, if you don’t enjoy it at least I do.”

DELAYNE: That’s the most important lesson, really you should write for yourself and if you enjoy it there’s gotta be at least one other person who will enjoy it so you might as well share it.

JANIE: One other person at least will enjoy it.

DELAYNE: Yeah, but you have quite a few fans of your work.  Lots of kudos and comments.

JANIE: Surprisingly yeah.  My mind is a little bit blown that this story in particular took off like it did.

DARKWICCAN: Well, one thing that’s really great about this fandom is that you have a lot of folks who are a lot more willing to engage in ideas that are maybe outside of canon lines.  As long as the writing is really good and your characters aren’t behaving out of character otherwise it’s like, “okay, well let’s see where this goes, let’s go along with this.” And that’s something that I really love about fanfiction in the Earp fandom.

JANIE: Yeah, no I agree, I have definitely had ideas or started stories and the characters get away from me and I’m like, “no you wouldn’t do this,” so I’ve stopped it.  Because I just feel like if I don’t feel comfortable with it and I don’t think it’s authentic I won’t put it out there. And I see a lot of stories that are like, I’m reading it and I’m like, this isn’t believable.  And not so much in this fandom like you said. This fandom sticks pretty much to the core of a lot of the characters and who they are. Even side characters that aren’t necessarily a huge influence on the show, a little quip here and a little scene there and you’re like, “that’s believable, that played out in my head and I could see that happening in an episode.”

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, there’s characters like Chrissy where we only got them for one and a half maybe episodes in the entire first season, and fic authors have taken the notion of that character and sort of the idea of her and the glimpses that we saw of certain character traits and expounded upon them.  And write full stories where she is a main side character and I go, “yeah, yeah, I totally buy it, that’s totally what Chrissy would do.”

JANIE: Yeah, it’s crazy.

DARKWICCAN: But let’s talk about your fic specifically,  _ In Her Own Wynonna Kind of Way _ , what struck me right off the bat about this story is that you have  set it in a modern alternative universe where Purgatory is a kingdom and therefore a monarchy and in this instance the Earps have been the reigning monarchs for quite a long time, and Wynonna has just recently ascended to the throne whether she wanted to or not.  And I think that’s really clever. I have read other shorter stories where they were set in more of a medieval or renaissance period using the kingdom idea, but this is the first one I’ve read that I think really does an effective job, a good job, of setting the monarchy in a modern day setting.  So why a monarchy? Why did you decide to go that route? 

JANIE: Honestly, it was last summer, around the ann iversary of Princess Di’s death, and I kind of realised I didn’t know her story, I mean I was thirteen when she died, I knew somebody important died but I never really knew the story, I never sat down and taught myself or figured it out or whatever.  And so I was bored one day at home and they had a bunch of documentaries on Netflix to celebrate her life around that time, and I watched the documentary, the one where it’s her recording, her voice telling the story to the guy who wrote the book about her or whatever?  And I just kind of, it kind of blew my mind, some of the things that I didn’t know had gone on in the inner workings, and I just kind of from there started… I went down a rabbit hole, from there the life of Charles, and from there it was the whole history of the house of Windsor and kind of the twists and the turns and the shady shit people did and the backstabbing and the betrayal and it was funny because this sort of stuff obviously really has happened in our history as human beings, people got beheaded, people lived and died by what the king said, but we’re so far removed from it in history that I don’t think we nowadays realised that this shit really happened. Like people, families, fought over land and crowns and stuff like that and so it kind of interested me to put that family honour and duty and all of that responsibility passed down to you whether you like it or not and put it into how would that function today.  Where so much of the world is under a democratic rule, and people vote and this and that, seeing that around you how would… like would you want to continue the monarchy or like in the story Wynonna is like, “this is barbaric, I need to get rid of it all.” And that was the inspiration I guess and I feel like the show has the storyline where whether you like it or not you’re the Earp heir and you have to kill these demons and it’s passed down to you everytime the heir turns twenty seven. So it was a kind of easy fit to slot it in and just kind of go from there.

DARKWICCAN: Nice, yeah.

DELAYNE: So besides Princess Di and the monarchy in the United Kingdom, is that the only contemporary royal family?  Or were there other families that you either researched or got inspiration from.

JANIE: That was the main one.  They actually have a really interesting documentary on Netflix, I don’t know if it’s still there, called  _ The House of Windsor. _  And it goes over their last one hundred years of their history and kind of what has led to Queen Elizabeth now and Charles and Harry and all of them people.  But I did do kind of a little side research on, it was more so abolishing the monarchy and how to go about that, and I learned that there are quite a few countries that do still have an active monarchies that I wasn’t aware of.  But as far as a specific family or a specific structure that was kind of the only real inspiration was the house of Windsor.

DARKWICCAN: I mean there is a whole lot to draw on from them.  The only other modern royal family that I… I mean I know that there’s the prince of Jordan but the whole set up, political set up there I can’t even comment on because I don’t understand it, it’s pretty complex.  There’s the king and queen of Monaco but the last thing I know about that was that Grace Kelly married into the monarchy but then she died because she drove her car into a… off a cliff or something by accident… so those are the only modern royal families that me personally, who doesn’t follow royal families at all, is vaguely vaguely aware of.

DELAYNE: But the tabloids, that’s mostly what I’m aware of, well just the news cycle in the UK especially when it comes to the royal family.  I think you portrayed that very well.

JANIE: Yeah, I mean it’s all a spectacle pretty much at this point for them.  I learned that their significant power over there is not, they don’t really have any political power.  They do have a group of people that’s kind of similar to a house of congress over there that do make the decisions.  So a lot of that royal hubbub over there is more ceremonial than anything. 

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, they’re figureheads, they’re royal figureheads and it is really the UK is a democratic country that elects a president in the form of the head of parliament and then parliament is essentially what congress was based on.  We should point out that they did it first. Now we turned it into a true democratic set up that has sort of wobbled a bit over the years.

 

JANIE: I don’t know what you’re talking about.  The stability over in America is unmatched.

DELAYNE: [laughs uncontrollably in the background]

DARKWICCAN:. Yeah, no problems here.  Okay so quickly quickly dashing past that debacle, I’m going to ask the big question.  So this is a delightfully constructed slow burn romance and set amidst the political backdrop of the kingdom of Earp, um the kingdom of Purgatory,  what about Wynonna and Nicole’s characters did you feel, do you feel make them a good romantic match?

JANIE: Um, I… the funny thing is I’m not... at the base of it I’m Wayhaught through and through right?.  I love Nicole and Wynonna’s dynamic as friends. I think the shenanigans they get into on the show, and the shenanigans they could potentially get into in the future are just unparalleled.  I would watch a show if it was like  _ Friends _ but Wynonna and Nicole just being them.   I love writing their friendship and it comes so easy to me because of Wynonna’s sense of humor and how she doesn’t take anything seriously and then Nicole, who takes sometimes things way too seriously and she needs that loosey-goosey attitude around her to kind of remind her to, “hey, like don’t send yourself into an early grave by stressing over everything.”  But as the two characters, at their very core they’re so similar, like they have the same basic morals, they want to do the right thing, they want to protect the ones they love, but they do so two completely different ways. Nicole’s by the book, and protocol, and she plans everything out, and you know Wynonna just kicks in the door with Peacemaker and is like, “lets go!”  

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

JANIE: But you know, at the heart of it she’s like, “I’m protecting Waverly, and Jeremy, and Doc and all of these people.”  And she’s fighting to keep her family alive and she’s fighting to save the people of Purgatory, on the show i’m speaking about, on the show she’s fighting to break this curse which they did apparently.  Like, Nicole gets drawn in and she’s like, “yes, I can join this fight but I’m going to do it my way, we’re going to fill out paperwork and we’re going to not go off the deep end.” And Wynonna’s like, “no we’re not, we’re going” and so you know, you cuff them together and they fight the entire time but when it comes down to it, when it gets down to business they work so well together that friendship is there, that foundation of being on the same level, and then they have such “opposite attracts”, like Wynonna’s laughing at everything and Nicole’s like, “shut up and stop shooting things because I’m trying to formulate a plan, and pick a lock and get us out of here.”  And I think when you have that foundation of friendship you can pretty much build on anything so I think the potential is there and I think for this story in particular, i didn’t mean to, but I built off of that foundation. And I found this, I dug deep down inside these characters and look what I found. Apparently Nicole is in love with Wynonna, oops. 

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Well, I guess i gotta have Wynonna be in love with Nicole too.  Slippery slope.

JANIE: Right? Knock on Wynonna’s door, “hey can I get down inside there and see what you got going on?  Oh, what’s this behind all those whiskey bottles? Oh, it’s a nugget of feelings for Nicole, weird, how long you had this rattling around in here?”

DARKWICCAN: Well, I have to say that i had no… the further we got into the storytelling and again because this is such a comprehensive slow burn you really do lay the foundation really well so by the time we do get them admitting their feelings to themselves and .to each other, it’s something like, “okay, this is something i can get on board with.”  It didn’t feel rushed at all, and it didn’t feel forced, so I think that you did a fantastic job of justifying their attraction to each other and the build up to get to the point where they’re finally kind of like, “yeah, dude, I love you man.” And not in a platonic way, you know. And I like the way that when they sort of confess their feelings for each other it was still a bit fraught and it was still a bit of misunderstanding and miscommunication because they just couldn’t believe that the other one could possibly have the same feelings.

JANIE: Yeah, and they get to a point of denial, “naw, she’s just being a friend.”

DARKWICCAN: Right, exactly.

DELAYNE: [laughs] That sounds like an awfully good trope, and actually it seemed like you fit quite a few classic tropes into the story, is that what you were going for?

JANIE: Not on purpose.  It’s been brought to my attention very recently, because I’ve been going through a lot of my older works and trying to find another story to write and I’ve realised that i have things I enjoy writing, i have things I enjoy putting characters through, and so and I guess they’re tropes.  I’m a sucker for them. But I guess my question is do you guys have a comprehensive list of every trope I hit? And did I miss any? Did I miss any really good ones? I know the coffee shop AU is not in there. Couldn’t make that one believable.

DELAYNE: Well, we have the bed sharing…

JANIE: Love it.

DELAYNE: Including all three, Nicole with the sisters, I love the bed sharing.  What did I mention in the first segment? I know there was a couple.

DARKWICCAN: Well, there’s the fake or pretend dating happened.

DELAYNE: Oh yeah, because of the rumour mill that sort of said, “hey they’re a couple clearly, they’re secretly a couple.”

JANIE: I think that kind of paired up with, that kind of launched into them being like, “naw, this is ridiculous.”  That was their first step of denial, “naw.”

DELAYNE: They were adamant about it actually and I loved it, they were like, “ew gross.”  Even when Wynonna suspected Waverly and Nicole were doing it…

JANIE: And she stuffs the stick up her nose in shock.  When she’s cleaning her boogers and Wynonna busts into the room screaming like a banshee.  yeah.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

DELAYNE: Of course, it wasn’t officially Wynonnus Interruptus but…

JANIE: I love pulling things from the actual media source and if I can put it into my story, I will.  And I think it’s almost a requirement that you need to write Wynonnus Interruptus anytime Wayhaught is even getting a little bit close.  

DARKWICCAN: So speaking of Wayhaught in this story, you do toy with the idea of Nicole and Waverly actually being the true match of this story, and when you have them actually explore that idea there’s definitely a sort of deflated kind of wah wah wah, deflated balloon quality that goes over with them both when they attempt to have a feeling about it.  Were you worried about how readers would react to that? 

JANIE: I was terrified.  I anguished over that, and originally I set out 100% it was a Wayhaught story.  Nicole was going to be in love with her best friend’s little sister and it was just going to cause so much drama between them and she was going to be torn between duty and honor and love.  Did she run away with Waverly? Did she abandon Wynonna on the throne? Totally had something different in mind. But when I set out to do something I kind of pick out plot points that i want to include, and I don’t really blaze a strict path.  I’m just like, “okay can I get to here authentically.” And I think, and I was listening to one of your earlier broadcasts, when Kat was on, and she was talking about that creative energy and sometimes you just tap into it and go with the flow and let it take you where you want to be and I do that a lot when I’m writing.  You have these characters, and you kind of know the base core of them, and you put them in these situations and say, “lets go.” And I do that a lot when I’m writing and sometimes my stories go someplace that I wasn’t expecting and I remember writing that, and it happened, and I stepped away and I was like, “shit.” And I remember texting my best friend and like, “the story just took a twist, and people are going to hate me.”  I was terrified but… and I went back and I re-read and thought, “okay, maybe if I change this reaction,” or “maybe if I change this,” like I was just trying to tweak it so it fit into that mould, it fit into my idea. And that did not feel authentic to me, and that to me is the most important thing, I’m not going to force it. That is when I feel like I write myself into a corner and it’s happened to me a few times, I’ll be writing a story and I’ll have a great idea and I don’t know where to go from here because I don’t believe this.  And so yeah, I anguished and I edited and I attempted to re-write and yeah, I was terrified. But I let it go, I was like, “okay let’s just keep writing and see what happens.” And what turned out, I think, is something so magically authentic and honestly it’s one of the favorite things I’ve ever done in my writing, is let them tell the story to me. And I think that my greatest gift is people who hit that point in the story and they say, “I was so bummed when Wayhaught had no chemistry, or not even had no chemistry but they just had no feelings, I almost stopped reading, but you made this story so interesting that I just wanted to see where it goes.”  And then by the end of it they’re rooting for Wynonna and Nicole to be together. And they’re like, “I cannot believe, I never wanted them to be together, never, I’m Wayhaught all the time.but by the end of this story I was yelling at my computer for them to stop being idiots and to talk about their feelings and finally kiss.” 

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: That is so great, and such a testament to your writing.

JANIE: That just totally blows my mind and i’m so totally humbled by it, when people get to the point and they say that and I’m like “thank you.“ Because I was terrified, I thought I would lose every reader, I thought this was writing suicide, they’re not going to read a single word after this.  And I’ve had that experience in my life, where I had a major crush like, “yeah, this girls cute” and we get along and i’m digging it, and then we get to that point and I’m like, “huh, nope.” And they’re going through so much personally in their jobs, and they’re trying to figure out their new positions and there’s already been so much trauma they just jumped right in.  And I think they just got confused and there was kind of a level of comfort with Waverly that it was removed from having to be Wynonna’s best friend, and her confidante and her protector, because she’s never seen Wynonna in that light, and then Waverly walks in and she’s just looking like Waverly and we’re like, “ah, this is a nice pretty distraction.” Yeah, i don’t know, it just happened, and I’m just glad that people have given the rest of the story a chance, because I think you can tell it’s authentically written as far as like… I hope people think it’s authentically written because it wasn’t my first intention but it happened.  So deal with it. Like keep reading or don’t, but I’m just like, “yay keep reading because it’s really good if you ask me but I’m really biased.”

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

JANIE: Well, thank you, I’m just flattered by all of the compliments that I’ve gotten.  This just blows my mind.

DARKWICCAN: Well, JANIE it’s been so much fun chatting with you today and learning about the inner workings of your mind as you were putting together this truly impressive story.  And thank you so much for coming on to chat with us. Now we have been asking some questions related to the story but we also have one final question that we ask all of our authors that I’m curious as to your answer to.  Delayne I’m going to toss it back over to you.

DELAYNE: Alright, you are stranded on a desert island and can have only one fanfic to read, what is it?

JANIE: I like how she puts you on the spot and gives you the hard question right?  No I’m just kidding.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Well, she asked most of the other questions.

JANIE: No I actually did my homework.  I think I’m an oddball who doesn’t actually read a lot of fic.  I love to write it but I just, for whatever reason don’t read a lot.  But I have been doing my homework this week. To kind of stick with the theme of Wynonna and Nicole together i found one where I’m really interested to see how it progresses and the authors seem really passionate about the story they have concocted.  It only has three chapters so far but it looks like it’s something that could entertain me for a long time if it had a lot of chapters so it’s called  _ Fire & Rain _ and it is by authors gaypurgatory and wynhaaught but Haught has the two ‘a’s in it.  So make sure you’re spelling it right when you go to find it. But it’s like a high school AU mixed with a ten years down the road, the one that got away, and it looks like they’re setting up a lot of angst which I’m a sucker for.  

DARKWICCAN: Nice.

JANIE: And high school nicole in this is like me so I relate.

DARKWICCAN: Nice.  So that’s  _ Fire & Rain _ , by gaypurgatory and wynhaaught.

JANIE: With two ‘a’s. :

DARKWICCAN: With two ‘a’s.  I am more than happy to provide a link in our show notes for our listeners to take a look at that Wynaught story that is setting up to be angsty and epic.  And i haven’t read it either so I’m going to take a little time today to get caught up on those three chapters. JANIE thank you again for coming on and i cannot wait to see what stories you gift us with next.

JANIE: They’re in the works I promise.  Thank you guys so much.

 

MUSIC: Don’t Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Maddigan

 

DARKWICCAN: And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.

 

Tremendous thanks to Janie aka tumblruserpailylove for joining us to chat about their fic.

  
  


Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro 

 

Background music for the episode was:

 

A Proper Story  by Darren Korb

 

Adventure Guild BY Erik Barone

 

and King's Court and Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

  
  


If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. 

 

And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.

 

And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

  
  


Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	27. Sister, Sister

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week DW and Delayne engage in a little sibling rivalry as they discuss the wonderful "Earp Sisters" speculative fic 'Promises Made' by w0rldofmy0wn!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/sister-sister)

 

Read the Fic!

[Promises Made by w0rldofmy0wn](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16507442)

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://efapodcast.com/youareavision.tumblr.com)

 

w0rldofmy0wn's Desert Island Fic selection: [Who Wants to Live Forever? by LuckyWantsToKnow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16958055)

 

Episode Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [MrsBlueBacon](http://efapodcast.com/twitter.com/MrsBlueBacon)

 

 

EFA Episode 227- Sister, Sister

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy, and welcome everybody to another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is my sister from another mister, my delightful cohost--

 

DELAYNE : Hi, it’s Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And this week we are super excited because we’re gonna be chatting about family.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [CONTENT CENSORED, PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT] Of course, a shoutout to our transcribers who are doing hard, hard work every week makin’ sure that our lovely voices are transcribed into printed words, uh, and uh, thank you, Delayne, for being here. Thank you Laragh, thank you everybody. Just a huge thanks. I would like to thank the academy...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...for this opportunity. I’m just on a thanks train right now. I can’t stop. This is the gratitude train takin’ off right now.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, I, thank you for having the podcast that I can be on, and thank you for being my family ‘cause you’re awesome.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, thank you friend, and thank you also to all of our listeners and Earpers everywhere because we are one giant fandomily [ph].

 

DELAYNE : I don’t know why that sounded weird. I thought you were gonna say famdom.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, we’re that, too.

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause I like fam-dom instead of fandom. ‘Cause we are definitely a fam-dom.

 

DARKWICCAN : Famdom, yes. Uh, and of course,  _ Wynonna Earp _ , the show itself, is all about family. Both found and blood, and partial blood, and not quite blood, but then we’re right back around to found again, so.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Exactly. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. [laughter] [CONTENT CENSORED, PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT] of course, just listening to the show, following us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, that is also a way to be a part of this gigantic family, so thank you so much for tuning in, and uh, yeah, I think, um, I think we’re ready to dive into the deep roots of this family tree.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Brilliant.

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you. I had to work really hard for that one.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I appreciate, I appreciate your, your uh, affirmation, very much.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, this week we’re talkin’ about a fantastic piece of work called “Promises Made” by W0rldofmyOwn. Uh, this is a character study of Waverly Earp and Wynonna Earp and their relationship to each other, um, throughout the years. Through childhood, all the way up to um, uh, ya know, the actual storyline within the show. So.

 

DELAYNE : I have a question. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I have an answer. Hopefully.

 

DELAYNE : Is it, we haven’t done this major a focus on a canon work, have we?

 

DARKWICCAN : On a canon work?

 

DELAYNE : Yeah ‘cause this is set in...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...well...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, we have.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because if you look at tigerlo’s character studies of Waverly...

 

DELAYNE : Oh yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and Nicole, that was all, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : But not as something as in depth and as far back as like...

 

DARKWICCAN : No, no, no.

 

DELAYNE : ...the entire story.

 

DARKWICCAN : No, you’re absolutely right. And that’s unique to this particular work in the fact that it does go all the way back uh, to Waverly’s birth, really right before her birth uh, and then following them through, uh, [stated in fancy sounding voice] childhood, adolescence, teenagerdom [ph], and ultimately adulthood.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, so, it is quite a uh, epic piece. It is over a hundred and twenty thousand words. Twenty chapters long. It is complete, and it is fantastic.

 

DELAYNE : I adore this fic. Oh my gosh. I uh, this is another one that I didn’t take very good notes on because I was just in it and reading.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s what kind of happened to me too. I got so absorbed in the storytelling and the masterful capturing of the characterizations of Waverly and Wynonna at all different stages of life, that I just kind of forgot I was reading and it almost felt like I was watching...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and uh, I also forgot to take mental notes.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I do remember what I read, ya know. [laughter] Uh, but uh, yeah, I will say that the chapters sort of merged into each other because they were just so um, engaging and, and dynamic and you don’t want to stop reading so you just keep reading from each chapter to each chapter and they all kind of become this one beautifully crafted, uh, chronological story of these two characters that we both love so much, and I mean, I uh, I’ve said before that um, Waverly and Wynonna are the love story, whereas Waverly and Nicole are the romance. Yeah. So, I, uh, who is it that says, um, the, uh, Earp sisters are very important to me dot tumblr dot com?

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I don’t know who started that. Was that something with the Meredith’s, or was that?

 

DARKWICCAN : I think it was Nikki.

 

DELAYNE : Oh, was it? Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, yeah. I, ooh. I’m not sure.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Forgive me if I’m getting, if I’m attributing, if I’m attributing incorrectly, you guys. I really. It’s become this sort of beast of its own that I absolutely adore.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : That pops up on Twitter pretty regularly, but I’m definitely in the Earp sisters are very important to me dot tumblr dot com camp.

 

DELAYNE : Isn’t there an actual t-shirt. Didn’t some...I think...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...I’ve seen it on a shirt, even, so. Like, yeah, it’s a thing. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : It is a thing, yeah. Um [laughter], and the great thing about this story of W0rldofmyOwn, is it allows you and encourages you to indulge in that, um, adoration of these two beautiful, flawed, amazing dynamic characters.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, the um, the, I guess, background fill-in scene that I didn’t know I needed until I read it, is the opening scene in this because we, ya know, we have in the show, Wynonna telling Waverly, “well, ya know, I gave you your name. They wanted to call you Welcome. Like, how dumb is that?” And...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...this opening scene with a pregnant Mama and Wynonna, ya know, they’re sitting and chatting, and it’s just, it is just so beautiful and it’s so, even just young Wynonna, the characterization is amazing and the whole scene, like I said, I didn’t know this was something I needed in my life, but now that I have it [laughter].

 

DARKWICCAN : You don’t wanna give it back. Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : It’s mine now, you can’t take it away.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. I will say that this first chapter has the only thing that I am remotely nitpicking about in this entire, in the entire one hundred and twenty words.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : There’s one element that just drives me up the wall when any author does it, and, and, W0rldofmyOwn fell victim to it, and that is, it is a scientific fact that caucasian babies all are born with blue eyes. That’s just a fact.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And um, W0rldofmyOwn describes Waverly’s eyes as when she opens them for the first time as soft brown. [annoyed sound] That is not...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That’s your one thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s the one thing.

 

DELAYNE : That’s a weird thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s like, “no, no.” ‘Cause it’s not correct. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And, and, and I know this is one of those debate things and I look forward to the angry tweets comin’ at me.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, Dominique’s eyes are hazel.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : They are hazel. They are not brown.

 

DELAYNE : Mine are hazel and it’s a fun color ‘cause they can change and will change depending on...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, mine, too.

 

DELAYNE : ...which colors the strongest.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I have, yeah, I have hazel eyes that tend toward blue for the most part, most of the time, but they will go grey, they will go green, they will go, kind of, a dirty brown green pea soupy thing goin’ on.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know, so, the great thing about hazel eyes, is they’re like hypercolor eyes. They will change colors.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : But what they are not, is brown.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] And that is my ONE...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...nitpick for this entire story. [yelled]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, out of the way. Moving on.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, it’s maybe not a nitpick thing, but, ya know, my understanding of the timeline, ya know, some of it, the way the author has interpreted it ‘cause not all of it is nice and clear and strict, so, ya know, what I thought, like when Wynonna left, I thought she didn’t leave Purgatory until after Waverly graduated, but this just has her come back for graduation. So, but that’s, that’s something...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I think that...

 

DELAYNE : ...that could be interpreted either way. I could see it...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, totally.

 

DELAYNE : ...that way, and I love the way the author launched how, why Wynonna needed to leave, ya know. So.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Mhmm. Oh, yeah, and I, like you said, I think it’s open to interpretation. I had always gotten the idea that she, well, first she was taken to, ya know, the psychiatric hospital, um, then she kinda got out of that then she did a series of stunts in juvie and I think that what happened is after her last stunt in juvie, she was just like “F this.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : “If I’m not here, they can’t send me there.” So, um, and I’m not saying that’s how it’s written in the story, I’m saying that’s my impression.

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah, we all interpret it differently, so it was, it was fun to see how someone else interpreted it and not just interpret it, but do it so well, like “yeah, this is it. This is headcanon now, this works.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. I have to say, out of all twenty chapters, my absolute favorite chapter is the Christmas chapter.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : And not just because we get to see how Waverly got her art supplies to make the menstrangel.

 

DELAYNE : I know. When, when Wynonna was at the store and told Gus she needed it, I was like “[sharp breath in] is it happening?” [laughter] “Are we gonna see?”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I mean, it just seemed like such a, you know, random line, like “ok, they’re at a store” and I was like “wait a minute. No, this is, this is leading up to something.” [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I should not get that excited over tampons, but I was.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] But, uh, but what I really...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...menstrangel aside, I just, I really loved how W0rldofmyOwn characterized that awkwardness of Wynonna coming home for the holidays and essentially being a stranger, uh, in the home, ya know. Gus is very wary of her, Curtis is, ya know, trying to be jolly Curtis, but it’s awkward, and ya know, Waverly just wants her sister.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And Wynonna, it’s just too much, and um, I just really liked the way that W0rldofmyOwn captured that, kind of, sensation of, of, ya know, Wynonna trying really hard but not knowing what to do with herself and not knowing how to relate to her family and, well, Waverly really, and the fact that she is on anti-psychotics, which isn’t helping, uh...

 

DELAYNE : Right?!

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and it is, it’s like the weird sort of, I don’t know, what would you equate it to, Delayne? Like, going home on a break from college and, I mean, it’s nowhere near the same because Wynonna’s experienced such traumas, but it’s that kind of thing where you’re home...

 

DELAYNE : But it’s, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...but it’s not the same anymore. You’ve changed too much.

 

DELAYNE : I think maybe it would be more abrupt as to maybe someone going in the military, like, ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Oh, yeah, yeah.

 

DELAYNE : A little more abrupt than going away to college, but still, just that sense of “well, I know this place, I’ve been here, I’ve lived here” ‘cause it’s not like she was never with Gus or Curtis when, when everyone was still together, but, ya know, it’s just exactly the same, but totally different and it really kind of fucks with your mind, even without the use of anti-psychotics...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ...like, fogging up your brain. And everyone telling you that you’re crazy, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : And, there’s a lot of important points here that I...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...am so glad are dealt with, like, and it’s at Christmas when Waverly finally says “but I know, Wynonna, that you are telling the truth” and Wynonna’s like “no, don’t…”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : “...this is when you never speak of this again. ‘Cause I know what happens…”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : “...when you do and everyone looks at you like you’re nuts and that can’t happen to you, so.” She shuts it down early, then, ‘cause Waverly still hasn’t talked about it, and at the time, she was too young and, ya know, very clearly traumatized, that ya know, she had said nothing. And I love the way the author just deals with all of that and shows it to us and does it in such an amazing way that, like, it is, it is canon to me now, ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Um, did that happen in the Christmas chapter?

 

DELAYNE : Was it, it was, yeah ‘cause she.

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t think.

 

DELAYNE : Well, she hadn’t quite gone home yet.

 

DARKWICCAN :  I don’t think it was.

 

DELAYNE : It was still during the Christmas vacation when. Wasn’t it? Now you’re making me doubt myself, damn you.

 

DARKWICCAN : No, I don’t think it was because...

 

DELAYNE : It was that first trip home though.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...the Christmas chapter...

 

DELAYNE : It was after Christmas, but before she got taken away in handcuffs.

 

DARKWICCAN : But, it wasn’t, it wasn’t the Christmas chapter, it was the chapter...

 

DELAYNE : No, it wasn’t the Christmas chapter, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...after that.

 

DELAYNE : It was the chapter after it, but it was...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, ok.

 

DELAYNE : ...it was her being home for, not in the institution for Christmas.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right.

 

DELAYNE : So. [laughter] Yeah, not the chapter itself, but the...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ...idea of being home for Christmas. Sorry for that confusion.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s ok. I was sitting here going “wait a minute, I so don’t remember that in that chapter, like, I know that it happened, I just don’t remember it in that chapter.” [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] No, I skipped ahead. You’re supposed to follow along with me. Didn’t you know this? I jump around.

 

DARKWICCAN : Sorry. How very Kris Kross of you.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Goddamnit.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Oh, that took a moment to sink in clearly, but, ugh.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so, yeah, so my, so, my favorite chapter is the Christmas chapter. What is your favorite chapter?

 

DELAYNE : Oh, ya know, I really thought about it ‘cause I, I knew this question was coming. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : It’s, it really is the first chapter for me.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, W0rldofmyOwn does a really great job, um, hitting the ground running.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, and uh, calling up all these images that have been suggested in the storytelling of the show, but that we’ve never seen.

 

DELAYNE : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, yeah, so they really do a fantastic job of saying “you know this stuff already, but you’ve never seen it before. Let me show it to you.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah see I’m stuck on all the earlier scenes ‘cause that’s the part that, that we only have the little bits and pieces of, so I feel like more was, what are the, I can’t find words today. Um, the earlier chapters of when they were younger, so before the show starts ‘cause it’s what, chapter twelve that we actually get to the first episode, so those earlier chapters...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...it’s, there was the little bits and pieces that was, like, less to work with so you had more to make of it. Does that make sense?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I know what you’re saying.

 

DELAYNE : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : There’s more room for W0rldofmyOwn to play.

 

DELAYNE : Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, there wasn’t so, so much canonical information that, kind of, would dictate exactly how they would be telling the story of this, the earlier part of their lives, um, so, so, yeah, I’m with you there, and yeah, once you get really close and into the chapters that align with the series itself, I think they, it feels like they go a little faster and that may not be the case as far as word count, but I think because we’re just so much more familiar with the imagery, um, and, and we’re so much more familiar with the solid canon uh, that it kind of feels faster to get through ‘cause you’re not as um, I mean, you’re still invested in the storytelling, absolutely. Uh, but you’re not as afraid that you’re gonna miss any like fine detail.

 

DELAYNE : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly. Good talk.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I, uh, er, [laughter], I’m just gonna sit here and make strange noises. Is that ok?

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s fine. Well, ok, so, again both of our favorite chapters are early on, but I gotta say, I really, really enjoy, when we get to the point when they’re both school-aged, and um, Waverly is in elementary school and uh...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...Wynonna is in middle school with her best friend Mercedes, um, and they’re both trouble makers, of course.

 

DELAYNE : [clears throat]

 

DARKWICCAN : And I, or was it that, um, that uh...

 

DELAYNE : They’re in high school.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...they’re in the beginning of high school, yeah. Like, freshman or junior, early on high school.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, but being that it’s a tiny town, uh, the schools are pretty much on the same lot.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : The elementary school and the high school are on the same lot, so I really liked how Wynonna was keeping an eye out on Waverly even from a distance. Even knowing that she can’t necessarily get involved, of course that’s never gonna stop her if...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...it means protecting her baby sister.

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause at that time she was also a, um, ‘cause that’s another scene where we, we explore more about Wynonna being in the foster care system ‘cause Waverly overhears the conversation um, that Gus and Curtis are having about ya know, and I love how that’s explored, so at that scene, Wynonna isn’t living with them, and then...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...finds out Waverly’s home sick from school that day and she’s like “oh, I’m outta here. Gotta go check on Waverly.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. I thought that was really sweet, and um, and so Wynonna. Again, the characterization, all through the ages is just excellent, spot on good.

 

DELAYNE : Spot on. Oh my goodness.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. [laughter] And, ya know, the, jumping back a little bit, that conversation you were talking about of Waverly overhearing um, Gus and Curtis talking about how they had gone to the grocery store and they couldn’t take Wynonna in because they felt they needed to keep Waverly safe from Wynonna.

 

DELAYNE : Ugh, yeah, that was.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ugh. I mean, well meaning, but misguided, ya know.

 

DELAYNE : Right?!

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, um. And [laughter] but again, it rings true.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : It rings true when you look, when you look at episode one, season one, uh, that is the feeling you get because again Gus is like, gets in Wynonna’s face when Wynonna is quote, borrowing the truck.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Um.

 

DELAYNE : And then it’s just Wynonna’s truck after that.

 

DARKWICCAN : And then it’s just Wynonna’s truck.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I’m curious um, ya know, ‘cause a lot of times when a writer is writing these background, these fill-in scenes, like, there’s always something that gets stuck in your head and that’s the specific one that you wanna explore that leads to usually an entire giant fic like this, so what is, ‘cause see, for me, that first scene, like, that, that’s the one that drew me in and I’m kinda hoping that’s the one where I wanna see, I wanna see the scene where Wynonna names Waverly. Like, I could see that inspiring me ‘cause just reading that first chapter was [laughter]. Clearly I’m obsessed about the first chapter. I don’t know why.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : So, I’m wondering what the author, what scene in particular the author was most invested in. What triggered this epic fic?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. What, what was the spark that lit the flame, for sure.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, you know what we can do.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I have a feeling, but why don’t you tell me.

 

DARKWICCAN : We could ask them.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] That sounds fantastic. Are we ready for that?

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m ready for it. Are you ready for it?

 

DELAYNE : I’m ready for it.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. Fantastic. So, yeah, we’ll be chatting with W0rldofmyOwn in the second segment today [CONTENT CENSORED, PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC : Greenpath by Christopher Larkin

 

DARKWICCAN : Hey everybody and welcome back to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am still your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is still my sistah [ph] from another mistah [ph]--

 

DELAYNE : Delayne.

 

DARKWICCAN : And we are super excited to have with us today, the author of the incredible story that we were discussing just before the break, “Promises Made” W0rldofmyOwn, who would like us to call her Cassidy today. Cassidy, welcome to the show.

 

CASSIDY : Hi, thanks so much for having me. This is awesome.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, dude, we are excited to have you here.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : We love talking to authors. It’s like our jam.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : I think you guys are doing the right thing then.

 

DELAYNE : Starting out at this level. We’re starting with this level of excitement, and it’s just, is it gonna build if we keep goin’?

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh yeah, by the time we’re done, [high pitched voice] we’re all gonna be talking up here.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : We’ll be standing on top of furniture just trying to...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : [unintelligible] ...fanfic, we love it.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I’ll be standing on my desk, Delayne, you’ll be crawling up into the top of your closet.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I don’t know what Cassidy’s got goin’ on, but we’re just gonna keep going higher and higher.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, Cassidy, this is an awesome start to this. I am very excited to have you here. This is gonna be amazing. Uh, so [laughter].

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, did you start out, did you start out with  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction, or were you in another fandom before, before you dipped your toes over here in the WE world.

 

CASSIDY : Uh, I was in another fandom. Um, most recently I was in the Clexa fandom, so I wrote um, a good number of Clexa fics, and years ago I did Naruto fanfic, but mostly I’ve been doing Clexa stuff.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, well, we have a lot of folks come over from the Clexa fandom at the start of  _ Wynonna Earp _ because of reasons.

 

CASSIDY : Yep. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] But we don’t need to go into it further here. For reasons.

 

DARKWICCAN : We don’t. We know what we’re talking about.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] What about  _ Wynonna Earp _ caught your attention?

 

CASSIDY : Um, so, honestly, I’m a pretty new Earper. I didn’t start really paying attention to it until they were about midway through season three, and, ya know, I’d kind of seen stuff about it on like Tumblr and gif sets and so on and so forth, but it didn’t really truly catch my attention until I saw, I think it was gif sets of, uh, episode seven in season three when, obviously, uh, Nicole and Wynonna get handcuffed together and then there’s the gnome and love is love line that Wynonna says. I just thought that was hilarious, and I was like “ok, ya know what, I’ve been putting off watching this show. Clearly it’s time to watch it.” And then I think I binged seasons one and two in a week.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yep, that’s pretty standard.

 

CASSIDY : Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : Pretty par for the course.

 

CASSIDY : Yep.

 

DELAYNE : A little different starting point, though, than we’ve heard before, so that’s fun that, that the WynHaught brotp brought you.

 

CASSIDY : Yeah, yeah. It was really funny. I had seen a lot about it before that. I think there was a lot about the show that interested me, I just hadn’t gotten into it. And then, ya know, they were handcuffed together and a gnome was trying to marry one of them and I was like “ok, this is clearly a show I need to watch.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, yeah, I think that, for any fence sitters out there, the gnome wife definitely was the clencher.

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Note to self: when introducing someone to the show...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...here, start here. Don’t ask any other questions.

 

DARKWICCAN : Use gnome wife as infection vector.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Infection vector?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

DELAYNE : Oh my gosh. When you put it like that, it sounds frightening. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] That’s like my favorite term to use when I’m trying to get somebody into something.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : That was not a clean gnome, so yeah, infection.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [louder laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : In places.

 

DELAYNE : That produced a very different image now. Thank you...

 

CASSIDY : Ya know, I’m a writer, it’s what I do. I write images.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, so, eee [ph] alright. Let’s dive into...

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...the story we’re all here to discuss.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Which is the only  _ Wynonna Earp _ fic that you’ve written so far in your catalogue of work. Um, and I hope that just means that you’re teeing up to write more.

 

CASSIDY : Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because this was...

 

CASSIDY : Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...fantastic. I loved...

 

CASSIDY : I do have a couple of ideas in mind.

 

DARKWICCAN : [sing songy] Yay.

 

DELAYNE : Yay. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : But yeah, the story is just so, uh, creative and comprehensive and I just love, I love getting into authors’ minds when they are, uh, coming up with the missing scenes, right? The missing scenes, between the scenes, those are like, I love those fics, uh, so I’m very excited to chat with you about this stuff...

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...but before I get going on a ramble, I know that Delayne’s got some questions for you, too.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Well, I...

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ...pretty much rambled the same thing...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ...that, in the begin, in the first part. Um, in that, uh, ya know, ‘cause, ‘cause we talk about a lot of AUs, so digging deep into a pretty comprehensive canon, behind the scenes, between the scenes, before the canon work, um, it’s, it, it’s been amazing, so, I am curious, is, is what was the specific moment, specific scene that you absolutely had to write? What was it that sparked this epic story?

 

CASSIDY : There were, [sigh] I would say there were a few scenes that I had to write. That I thought of and I was like “ok, this has to go in there. There has to be something written to show it.” Um, I think one of those was, I needed to know more about why everybody in Purgatory hated Wynonna so much and didn’t believe her for, ya know, the demons, and what happened to their father. But everybody loved Waverly so much, and they were both there that night at the homestead. They both witnessed all these things, so what happened so that everybody disbelieves Wynonna, but does, like loves Waverly. So, I wanted to figure out what it was that created that, that uh, separation from the two sisters.

 

DARKWICCAN : Nice. So, really, it was not just one particular scene, it was the whole concept of how did they end up in such different...

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...places. Yeah.

 

CASSIDY : Hmm. Yeah, yeah. And then taking that and building from it, of how do we go from, well, Waverly grows up then with Curtis and Gus, but Wynonna doesn’t get to live with her aunt and uncle. She goes through foster home after foster home with stints of juvie in between those, and just, how does all of that happen and yet these sisters, who are the core of the show, how do they still remain so close?

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, yeah. So, ok, so, that’s the general, kind of, idea and feeling that kind of sparked the story, um, how did you then...

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...go back and decide which moments specifically that you wanted to tell?

 

CASSIDY : One of the things that um, watching, watching the show, that I like, but I wanted more of, is that they have all these like little drop lines of things that happened to one or both of the sisters, so things like um, when uh, we find out that Waverly was the head cheerleader, or, or the um, when we find out that Wynonna had this nemesis in high school that put pig intestines in her locker every week. And I was like “you can’t just give me that line and then not tell me more about it”, so I had these thoughts that just grew in my head and it was like “how do they do that?” And, so, things like the grape soda coming out of Waverly’s nose? That’s not so farfetched because, ya know, sisters, usually they pick on each other and I could see Wynonna, as a child, getting Wavelry to spray grape soda out of her nose. But, I wanted to know what built up to that moment, so I had to figure out, ok, what do we do here, how did that happen, and it led to the truth or dare scene in, I think, chapter two, um, of Willa and Waverly and Wynonna in the barn, playing truth or dare. And so I just wanted to build on these little moments.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, essentially, you’re just kind of taking these sort of throw away lines, uh, that we get from the show...

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that give us a quick little peak into uh, the early lives of our beloved Earp sisters, and going, “ok…”

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : “...how did we get there?” and extrapolating off of it.

 

CASSIDY : Yeah, exactly. And building into that and figuring out how this really builds up or adds to that character. So, for another example, um, the, the line, um, where Wynonna tells Waverly not to, uh, stop being herself because she’s in a relationship, like she did with Champ and she missed her valedictorian speech in high school, I wanted to look at that ‘cause I was like, Waverly is not a character is not, at least I would assume, would skip out on her graduation for her boyfriend playing a video game, so I wanted to dive into that and be like “how the heck did that happen? How did Waverly…”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : “...decide that this was the right choice?” And then, I don’t know, also build off of that, Wynonna’s response to that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Totally.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : ‘Cause that was one that threw me off too, it’s like “wait, what? Why is Waverly missing these things? That doesn’t make sense.”

 

CASSIDY : Yeah. Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : But, I like the way you portrayed them, so. [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : Thank you. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : Um, so, there was a lot of behind the scenes that you were writing.

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : Uh, which was the most, or between the scenes, which was the most difficult moment for you to write and to piece together?

 

CASSIDY : Mmm. I think, just chapter wise, the two chapters that immediately come to mind as ones that I had difficulty putting together, were um, chapter five, I believe it was, towards the beginning, um, it was after Mama’s been taken away, after um, Ward was shot. The first time that Wynonna comes back home, air quotes, um, to, to see Gus and Curtis and Waverly for Christmas. I had a really difficult time with that chapter. It was hard to piece together exactly how I wanted it portrayed, I think. Um, it came together, I like how it came together, but it took me days and days and days to actually come up with the chapter that I wanted for that one.

 

DARKWICCAN : We were, we were talking in our first segment, and that’s actually my favorite chapter of the entire fic.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : Oh, that’s awesome.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that’s my favorite chapter.

 

CASSIDY : That’s awesome.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : There was a lot in, well, you know, but there’s a couple chapters that cover the Christmas uh, Wynonna home for Christmas, and...

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm.

 

DELAYNE : ...yeah, that was.

 

CASSIDY : The funny thing is that, that first one, chapter five, was a really difficult one, but I don’t think chapter six, which is basically that second part of Wynonna home for Christmas, that one came together pretty easily. I don’t think it took me too long to put that together, but for some reason chapter five just, it was grueling to get out.

 

DARKWICCAN : And you don’t know exactly why that is?

 

CASSIDY : No, it was just one of those ones where, ya know, I would type a paragraph, I’d reread it and be like “alright this works” and then keep going, but I’d have to stop like every page or so and be like “is this really where I want this chapter going? Is this really what I have in my mind and is it actually coming out on the page, um, and I think it took a couple, I wouldn’t say full on rewrites ‘cause I seldom rewrite a chapter, but uh, it took uh, some time for the whole thing to be what I wanted it to be and not have to pick a piece, pick apart a few paragraphs.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, when you had, uh, both Waverly and Wynonna in a scene together, how did you decide whose point of view you were going to write the scene from?

 

CASSIDY : For the most part it really wasn’t necessarily a conscious decision, is what, how I would say. Um, for the most part, as I was developing this story, I knew who I wanted to be telling that piece of the chapter about. Um, so, like, for example, um, when they’re younger and Waverly was sick, and Wynonna sneaks into her room to comfort her or whatever, I always knew that I wanted that to be Waverly’s sick, it’s coming from her point of view, um, and then, most of the times that was the case. I knew “ok, this is the character who is really um, driving this, this paragraph, this scene”, but there were some times where I thought it was going to be one of them, and it wasn’t until I got, I really started to write that chapter that I was like “no, this really doesn’t work for this one, it’s gotta be the other one.” So, for example, um, one of the later chapters when, oh, right after Wynonna gives Bulshar Peacemaker, that whole chapter was originally going to be from Wynonna’s perspective, and when I was planning it out, I started writing it that way and I was like “no, it doesn’t work this way, I need it to be from Waverly’s perspective to at least start with.” So, I think that, that’s kind of how it was. It was a balance of, for the most part, I knew exactly who was telling what piece of the story, and then other times it was, I thought it was gonna be this one, but when I started writing, it turned out to be the other one. Does that all make sense?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, no, it absolutely makes sense.

 

CASSIDY : Cool.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, definitely.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] Yeah, good for listening to yourself and realizing, ya know, as you’re writing, like, this isn’t working...

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm. Yep.

 

DELAYNE : ...I need to switch it around, so. Ok, well, maybe you had to make a full, full decision uh, a full concentrated decision when it came to some of the inconsistencies in canon, like when...

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...Mama left, um, we kinda get two different pieces of information.

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : And so, what was the decision making process when you encountered a situation like that?

 

CASSIDY : That was hard. I won’t lie. That was hard. I think, I will say I think I had it a little easier being relatively new to the Earp fandom, um, because I did binge those first two seasons so quickly and in such a short amount of time that I didn’t have, ya know, months of “well, this is the truth” and then that truth was, ya know, denied by oh well, that’s not the case anymore. Um, so, I think what I just really did, uh, by the time I started writing this, I think I watched the first two seasons at least twice um, and started taking notes at least the first time, maybe the second time that I, uh, was going through them, and just tried to keep track of “ok, how old were they when this happened? Uh, how long was it between when Mama was quote unquote, uh, when she quote unquote left versus when the revenants’ attack on the homestead happened?” And eventually I just had to look at all the notes and say “ok, well, this directly contradicts that and this directly contradicts that”...

 

DELAYNE : [clears throat]

 

CASSIDY : ...So, I had to take it and go “ok, what works best for the story that I’m writing and that it seems like the story is now, um, leaning towards in the, in the canon.” So, for the most part, I think that’s really what I had to do, was I tried my hardest to just be as canon as possible and then when there were two completely, um, contradictory pieces of information, I just had to be like “you fit better for my story so we’re going with you.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : I, I like it, and it makes total sense. And it’s what you have to do, and it’s also one of the joys of being a fic...

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...writer, is you do, sort of, get to make these executive decisions in your own storytelling...

 

CASSIDY : Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...when something doesn’t jive canonically...

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...uh, and I also just love the fact that Emily can’t math...

 

CASSIDY : Oh, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and so we just [unintelligible].

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : Which is totally fine. I can’t math either. You should have seen, I had notes everywhere. Notes of specifically the chapter where Wynonna leaves for Greece and then it’s, uh, different pieces of the however long she’s in Greece. I have a whole calendar written out. I was like “ok, this year, so Waverly is this old and Wynonna is this old and it’s this month, so we gotta be like this”...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : ...and it was a pain in my butt, I will tell you that. So, I totally get it.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : I really, really get it.

 

DELAYNE : You know you’re a fic writer when.

 

CASSIDY : Exactly.

 

DELAYNE : Dot dot dot.

 

CASSIDY : That’s what it was, too. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Ya know what though, I appreciate a good chart.

 

CASSIDY : Yes, that’s what it was. A good chart. It needed to be.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Like, when we were first watching the show, Laragh and I sat down, uh, Laragh, if you haven’t heard her, she’s one of the other, she’s sort of our wingman cohost. She’ll come in when Delayne’s unavailable...

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...or we have an episode where three’s better than two...

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and uh, [laughter] when we first watched the two seasons of the show, we were like “wait a minute, how’s, how much time has passed?”

 

CASSIDY : Right?!

 

DARKWICCAN : We sat down and we created this massive chart.

 

CASSIDY : [excitedly] Yes, right?! And, uh, one of the things I noticed while...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : ...I was doing the research of “ok, how old are they and how long happened between this point and this point is?” If you watch the, the very first episode, the series premiere, and then you read the credits, apparently, uh, Willa was twelve, Wynonna was ten, and Waverly was seven when the revenant attack happened on the homestead, and I was like “that’s very different from what they say later.” So, I was like...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

CASSIDY : …“alright, we’re gonna play with that and just scrap it.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] I didn’t even think that...

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : ...in the credits it shows their age after the, I didn’t even think to look at that. That’s so...

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Totally different.

 

DELAYNE : ...yeah, very different. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Not only, not only that, but like, um, yeah, how brave of them to include the ages in the credits ‘cause typically it’s just “young character name”, ya know.

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

CASSIDY : Right?! It wasn’t like “young Willa” it was “twelve year old Willa, ten year old Wynonna, seven year old Waverly” and I was like “wow, that’s different. Ok.”

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. It completely changes things up because...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...because if, wait a minute.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That would mean that Wynonna’s only three years older than Waverly when she’s supposed to be six years older than Waverly. [laughter] It’s like.

 

CASSIDY : Exactly! I was like “I do not think that, that Waverly’s that old.”

 

DARKWICCAN : That had to be the ages of the actresses, like, it just had to be. Like, I just.

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh man.

 

CASSIDY : Yeah, it was just so funny to read that and be like “huh, well, that’s different.”

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Like, things I’m going to choose to ignore.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : This information.

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm. Yep.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : Yep.

 

DELAYNE : I didn’t even realize...

 

CASSIDY : Yep.

 

DELAYNE : ...they were there, so I’m just like completely blown away here. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Right.

 

CASSIDY : You’re gonna look for it now. Next time you watch it, you’ll look for it.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, totally, I’m going to be pausing on that frame and going “you!” as I point at it. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : With large accusatory eyes. Eee. Uh, yeah. That’s fantastic. Um, so, uh, so Cassidy, I’m sure, or at least I would um, suspect, that you’re familiar with the whole the Earp sisters are very important to me dot tumblr dot com kinda meme.

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm. Yep.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yep, ok. Good, good. [laughter] Would you say that the Earp sisters are very important to you dot tumblr dot com?

 

CASSIDY : I would, oh yeah, definitely. I think one of the things, for me, that makes a show a good show, is um, really, really strong relationships, and in my opinion, that means it needs to be more than just um, romantic relationships, and the familial relationships are just so amazing in this show, and it’s not necessarily just the Earp sisters, although they are definitely the foundation, but it’s just the found family that this show has created. Um, it’s just so strong and the fact that Wynonna and Waverly would literally do anything for each other, it means so much to so many people and I would definitely say, yeah, I am one of those many, many people.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I’ve often said that the, that WayHaught, Waverly and Nicole...

 

CASSIDY : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...are the romance of the show.

 

CASSIDY : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : But Wynonna and Waverly are really the love story. Um.

 

CASSIDY : I think that’s entirely accurate, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And it’s a familial, yeah. Yeah, oh, thank you. [fake laugh]

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Polish my nails uponce my shoulder.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so, let me ask you, from your point of view, writing this story, uh, what was the most important element of the Earp sisters’ relationship that you wanted, specifically, to imbue into your storytelling, right from the beginning?

 

CASSIDY : Oh, that’s a really good question. Um, I wanted to show, right from the beginning, um, just how, how deep their bond goes. Um, and I think that, that’s why I started it, literally, with the birth of Waverly and that, not even just the moment that Wynonna meets Waverly, but the leading up to that moment, so, um, ya know, Wynonna’s sitting on the couch with Mama Earp and ya know, her hand on Mama’s belly and feeling Waverly move and discussing, “well, we can’t name the baby Welcome ‘cause that’s stupid, come on Mama.”

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : Um, it was just really important for me...

 

DELAYNE : I love kid Wynonna. [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : Me too, I love kid Wynonna, yes. Um, I would love to see more of that in the show. Anyway, side note. Um, and just developing that right from, like, those first few paragraphs of this is my baby sister, but also showing later on in that chapter, kind of, I wouldn’t necessarily say the fear, but the reservation maybe, with Wynonna, and being a big sister and ya know, she’s the middle sister. She already has a big sister to look up to and, in my opinion at least, Willa has big shoes, so that’s a big job to fill. Um, being a big sister. So, seeing that, that hesitation, that reservation from Wynonna of “oh, I am gonna be a big sister and maybe I’m not good enough to be a big sister because Willa’s already the big sister and Willa is the Earp heir and Willa is the best of us and blah blah blah”, but then that moment that Mama Earp comes in and puts, uh, baby Waverly on Wynonna’s lap and Wynonna is like “this is my baby sister. This is my responsibility. This is the reason I was born, was to take care of and love my baby sister.” Um, so I wanted to show that from, from the very start, and then from there, with every chapter, build off of that relationship and develop it and make it deeper and richer and fun, too, because they’re just hilarious characters.

 

DARKWICCAN : I love, yeah, the Earp sister littles, I think that, um, uh, and you capture them so well, including Willa. Including Willa. You really aced the, sort of, aloofness.

 

CASSIDY : Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : The superiority complex.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, the jealousy. Uh, you really, you really got in one, so um, and, and you made her oddly, like, not, I won’t say likeable and I won’t say pity-able, but some sort of fine line between the two of them, where.

 

CASSIDY : Yeah, I didn’t, I didn’t want her to be a trope, so to say. Like, I think from the shows, we look as Willa, at Willa as the bad guy quote unquote, but I mean, you gotta think about all the stuff that she went through, like, that’s a hell of a thing for a little kid to grow up in. But then it’s also like, take a step back and think of Willa as, she was the Earp heir, she was supposed to be the one to do all this. She was the one that Daddy put all the pressure on her shoulders. She had to be the big sister of not just one little sister, but two, and admittedly, she wasn’t exactly a great big sister to Waverly, so there was also that weirdness between the two of them that Wynonna, dear sweet Wynonna, probably never really noticed because we know how much Wynonna really pays attention to that kind of stuff, but it was just really important that, yes, this story is about Wynonna and Waverly, but Willa is the sister also, and for the brief amount of time that she was in there, I wanted to pay her respect, I guess. But not change her character too much, if that makes sense?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, no, I think you got it just right. I think you got it, right in the pocket.

 

CASSIDY : Cool.

 

DELAYNE : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely.

 

CASSIDY : Cool. I like to hear that. I think any writer likes to hear that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well...

 

DELAYNE : Spot on.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...Cassidy, this has been an absolute joy chatting with you today. I love getting to hear, uh, I loved getting to hear insights and um, just things that we never knew before. The whole thing with the credits and the kids ages.

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Kinda blew my mind a little bit.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. [laughter]

 

DELAYNE : I’ve enjoyed your enthusiasm.

 

CASSIDY : It’s so much fun. Oh my god.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Well, hopefully next...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...hopefully this next question doesn’t change that for you, uh.

 

CASSIDY : Ok, alright.

 

DARKWICCAN : We have one question that we ask all of our authors.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : Alright, bring it on.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok, and because it’s the most difficult and horrible question we could possibly come up with, I, of course, always turn it over to my pay Delayne to ask.

 

CASSIDY : You’re so nice. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Aren’t I giving? I’m such a giver.

 

DELAYNE : Alright. [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : You are clearly, clearly.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter] It, it makes me look like a tough guy, so I’m ok with it. [laughter] So, you are stranded on a desert island and only have one fanfic to read, what is it?

 

CASSIDY : Woo. That is definitely an impossible question. Um, so, I think, I’m going to have to go with, so, uh, a story that I’ve been reading and I actually need to catch up, I haven’t finished it yet, is um, “Who Wants to Live Forever?” by LuckyWantsToKnow.

 

DARKWICCAN : [excited gasp]

 

CASSIDY : Um, I don’t know if you guys are familiar with that one.

 

DARKWICCAN : It’s so good.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : Isn’t it so good? I know. I need to finish it, I just haven’t been able to, um, but I, I think...

 

DARKWICCAN : Woh.

 

CASSIDY : ...today, I would choose that one, whether or not I wouldn’t find another one to choose tomorrow, that, ya know, who knows, but today I would choose that one.

 

DARKWICCAN : Fantastic. I am thrilled to add that to our show notes as your desert island fic and provide a link so that our listeners, if they haven’t checked out the incredible story of “Who Wants To Live Forever?” by LuckyWantsToKnow...

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...which is, frankly, the only Highlander AU that I will read.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s a lie. I read everything, but it’s the only one that I’ve truly enjoyed. [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : There you go.

 

DELAYNE : [laughter]

 

CASSIDY : There you go.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, folks who haven’t read it yet, will get a chance to read it. So, excellent, excellent choice.

 

CASSIDY : Awesome. Thank you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, thank you, and uh, I look forward to whatever else you got cookin’ up for us and the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fic world and uh, until then, have a fantastic day.

 

CASSIDY : Thank you so much, this was a lot of fun.

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that's it for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for tuning in. Huge thanks to Cassidy for chatting with us about Promises Made. Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, Tinkerer’s Shop by Shinichi Sakamoto, Greenpath by Christopher Larkin, and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	28. History Has Its Eyes On You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week on the show DW and Delayne go back in tiiiime to chat about author green_ola’s awesome historical fiction AUs!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/history-had-its-eyes-on-you)

 

Read the fics!

[Homesteaders, You and I](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16307693)

and

[By Trial and Error](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17372789) by green_ola

 

Episode Artwork by Chantal Zeegers

 

 

green’s Desert Island fic selection is [“a place is only a place” by Thrace](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15284589)

 

Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [ApproxTenCats!](http://efapodcast.com/twitter.com/approxtencats)

 

Ep 228: History Has Its Eyes On You

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

  
  


MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN: Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everybody to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I am your host DarkWiccan and with me, tuning up the wayback machine is my delightful co-host...

DELAYNE: Hi, it’s Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: And we are super excited because this week we are taking on… histories mysteries.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Okay, not exactly, I’ll explain what I mean in a second.  

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Okay, [inaudible] over, now let’s talk about the stories we are here today to talk about which are by the same author because we’re focused on historical fiction AUs.  And I’m so excited Delayne, I am so excited because historical fiction is my wife’s favourite thing and so I feel like I’m connecting to her by reading this fantastic  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfic which is also historical fiction.

DELAYNE: Major historical fiction with some major historical figures, I mean these are… there’s a lot.

DARKWICCAN: There’s a lot of historical name-dropping happening in these stories.  And so much meticulous research went into both of these stories. The author is green_ola.  The stories we are talking about today are  _ Homesteaders, You and I  _ which takes place in the Old West, and  _ By Trial and Error _ which takes place in Europe, primarily France.  And they both take place, well,  _ Trial and Error  _ takes place in the 1900s whereas  _ Homesteaders, You and I _ takes place in the late 1800s.  But the great thing about this is that green_ola doesn’t actually specify which decade in the late 1800s but there are clues that they give in that we do know that it’s after the Civil War based on some things that one character says.  So it’s got to be at least 70s, I’m thinking closer to 90s. That’s just my guess.

DELAYNE: They didn’t want to nail down a 7, an 8 or a 9 so they left those, that number blank.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, they put an X in that place and let you deduce your own conclusion there.  But yeah, I just, again the amount of research that green_ola put into these stories, both of them, is so impressive.

DELAYNE: Yeah, I’m overwhelmed, so I suspect there will be a lot more awkward pausing as I’m just in awe.

DARKWICCAN: Well, why don’t we start off by talking about the story that they wrote first, or at least posted first, which is called  _ Homesteaders, You and I,  _ and that again is the one that takes place in the late 1800s, in the Old West.  Honestly when I first started reading it I thought, “okay, so they’re just following the trend.”  Because there was a trend happening where we had a lot of Old West stories popping up all at once and almost all of them had Nicole masquerading as a man so that she could have more agency over her fate in that time period.  And so I immediately thought, “okay, okay, so this is just bandwagoning and you know what, that’s fine.” I actually don’t mind bandwagoning at all, especially when the offerings are so high quality.

DELAYNE: That’s right and it’s the same theme but we actually have quite the diversity in stories.  Yes, there’s lots of similarities in the way each author takes it and makes it their own, I love that about… especially in this fandom, the authors are just so great at making them all unique.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, again that’s why I say I don’t care about bandwagoning because all of our authors in this fandom are so creative and have their own unique voices and their own takes on things and as a result even if you have a slew of stories all on a similar theme, they’re all going to be unique from each other.  And that’s also why I didn’t include this story in our episode this season where we talk about Old West stories where Nicole masqueraded as a man. Because this story really set itself apart in how it incorporated all of these historical characters into the narrative. I also really liked how green_ola not only incorporated historical characters into the narrative but also mucked about with identities here and there, making a particular character an actual outlaw, and having the outlaw pseudonym be their... 

DELAYNE: [laughs] It took me a while to figure out what you were talking about.

DARKWICCAN: You know what I’m talking about?

DELAYNE: That was, oh gosh, you know that first scene, okay am I allowed to say Sally?

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.

DELAYNE: When we first meet Sally I was like, “huh.”

DARKWICCAN: “Boy, that person’s description sounds very familiar.”  And then when we meet Sally again later and their true identity is revealed we’re like, “ah yeah, okay, okay.”

DELAYNE: I was thrown at first, like was I tricked into thinking Sally was someone else?  No, okay, there we go.

DARKWICCAN: No, actually I was led down the right path.

DELAYNE: I just had the briefest moment.  It was like… it was great, I was excited and then I was confused and then I was excited again.

DARKWICCAN: So basically just a typical day.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Oh, good thing I just got some witch hazel for that burn.

DARKWICCAN: [laughs] Only cause I loves ya.  

DELAYNE: [laughs] I am well aware, no shame here.  What I liked was all the author’s notes.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, so much information.  And pictures.

DELAYNE: Right?  We actually have pictures of… 

DARKWICCAN: Lots of characters.

DELAYNE: Yes, we have pictures of historical figures, and pictures of some of these towns in North Central Montana?  Absolutely amazing.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah.

DELAYNE: I’ve been out in the wilderness plenty of times. And I’ve been to some of these areas.  I haven’t been out where this takes place but the scenery is beautiful and it’s awesome to have these… when you’re out in these places now and trying to imagine them being bustling towns, like it really blows your mind.

DARKWICCAN: It does, yeah, but I do like that green_ola has provided imagery, ”so when I was writing the jail scene, or description, this is the reference photo that I based the description on, or when I was thinking of what the Earp Homestead land in Montana looked like this is what I was picturing,” showing a photo of a small ranch.  And these are contemporary photos of older buildings.

DELAYNE: Historical sites.

DARKWICCAN: Historical sites.  And then mixed in there are photos of actual historical figures like Calamity Jane and, um, Pearl something?

DELAYNE: Yeah, I was going to say Pearl.

DARKWICCAN: I was trying to remember earlier, all I could think of was Pearl.  And you know, I had no idea that there were these man-dances, which I just find hilarious.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Poor Dolls.  “You go and enjoy your man-dance.”

DARKWICCAN: [laughs]

DELAYNE: There was a photo provided of that too. That is fricking fantastic.

DARKWICCAN: And they look so awkward, the men look so awkward.  They’re like, “ugh, we really wish you weren’t taking a photo of this right now.”  Like none of them look happy to be there. But yeah, it’s these little gems that green_ola dusts throughout the storytelling that gives authenticity and also a sort of groundedness to the world building that they’re doing that takes you back to that time period.  So here’s the thing, in this instance instead of Ward Earp being the patriarch it is Wyatt, it is Wyatt Earp and...

DELAYNE: The author has some thoughts about who Wyatt was.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, yes, but here’s the thing that struck me the most, is that Wyatt in this incarnation is so caught up in himself that even though he catches certain things, they are always things that work to his benefit so he recognises, like for example that Cole, in this instance Cole Haught, has moon eyes for Waverly and he plays that to his advantage.  He somehow misses over the fact that Cole is not a guy. And I think it’s hilarious, and I don’t think I’m spoiling too much when I’m saying this, it’s hilarious to me that Cole [ahem] thinks he’s pretty decent at pulling this whole act over and it’s true that out in the open prairie as a bounty hunter where he doesn’t really have to deal with people too much except with capturing and turning people in, yeah that’s a rough and tough lifestyle and it’s maybe less obvious.

DELAYNE: [laughs] And anyone captured is going to say, “no, that’s a big tall dude that took me down.’  They’re not going to say that they even suspected.

DARKWICCAN: Exactly, exactly, they’re not going to confess.  But now Cole is more or less settled and while yes, it’s true, people see what they want to see, and that’s absolutely true for a good chunk of the characters, there are also characters who clock Cole almost immediately.  And I just love how Cole is always, “dang it, I thought I was doing a good job.”

DELAYNE: And there are the ones that do it immediately and then there are the ones that are like, “something’s up.”

DARKWICCAN: “I’m going to figure this out.  Something’s not right about this young man.”  So yeah, so I just love the fact that Wyatt Earp...

DELAYNE: “Why does he always look so clean shaven, freshly clean shaven all the time?”

DARKWICCAN: But i love the idea that Wyatt Earp, legendary lawman, in this story was so caught up in his own business, so caught up in his own selfish needs, that it just doesn’t even occur, just nothing.  I just found that amusing.

DELAYNE: Well, my understanding of the real Wyatt is that he played up… he was eagerly involved in building up his stories.

DARKWICCAN: Oh sure, sure sure sure, yes. Anything to benefit his, yeah.

DELAYNE: This is really believable to me. [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: I believe it too, I believe it too.  And you might as well when you sit down to read  _ Homesteaders, You and I _ .   But I think we’ve dwelled on this particular story long enough. Why don’t we move along to the next story we are talking about which will move us away from the United States entirely.  It will move us over to England and then France in the early 1900s which is  _ By Trial and Error. _

DELAYNE: Okay when I read the introduction I thought there would be mentions of Madame Curie but there was… oh, they’re fully involved with her.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, I loved that she is a main character in the story.  I loved it. And I also loved bringing in all of the socialite upper elite of Parisian society scene.

DELAYNE: [laughs] [inaudible words]

DARKWICCAN: And have you seen the movie Collette?

DELAYNE: I have not yet, no.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, I’m going to suggest, listeners, that if you haven’t seen Collette take a couple of hours out of your weekend and watch this movie before you read this fic because it will add so much to your experience.  Because so many of the characters, not the scientists, but the socialites that appear in that film appear in this story. So you have that much more of a grasp on who these people were and how they related to that scene if nothing else.  And I mean this is Paris in the early 1900s where a woman of a certain station and wealth could get away with essentially being openly gay. That it was tolerated.

DELAYNE: That unnatural bohemian lifestyle.

DARKWICCAN: That’s right.  Just about that, green_ola does a fantastic job of not only bringing in, not just the social scene, but also the political scene.  There’s a lot of stuff building up to what would become World War One, the groundwork for that is beginning to be laid in parts of Europe at the start of the 1900s.  And green_ola manages to loop Nicole’s character into that political intrigue, also social political stuff, stuff about workers rights also, this is a buffet of historical happenings and it’s just… and then of course the Curies, it’s everything, I love it.  It never feels bogged down either.

DELAYNE: I mean, can I go back to, well I’m pretty sure I never learnt any European history in high school, if I had to could I have just read this?

DARKWICCAN: It would have been so helpful, you would have had to do some side summary reading to change names, to get the names right because once again we have  _ Wynonna Earp _ characters standing in for actual historical figures so you couldn’t write an essay...

DELAYNE: It wouldn’t, to the T, be historically accurate, but the general theme and feel of the time.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, absolutely.  I loved the whole rich girl/poor girl thing we have going on, that green_ola set up.

DELAYNE: [laughs] The writing desk.

DARKWICCAN: Aw.

DELAYNE: Right?

DARKWICCAN: How cute. And how sweet and thoughtful, and again to Nicole is nothing but to Waverly is everything. But essentially Waverly is a young scientist, she’s a lab assistant, she’s working in England, she’s from England, so you get to imagine Waverly with her British accent.

DELAYNE: “Waverly, that’s the worst British accent I’ve ever heard.”

DARKWICCAN: Here’s the thing though, you really have to imagine it more like Dominique… because when they did that scene at the top of season two, she was putting on a very proper, central London, proper,  what we would call the Received Pronunciation English accent. The RP. But really this Waverly is more Eastenders.

DELAYNE: My Fair Lady? [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Well, not cockney.  

DELAYNE: I went to the farthest extreme I could think of.

DARKWICCAN: She is educated, so she’s a step above that, but she is from poverty so that influences her.  I think if you were just to imagine Waverly with Dominique’s natural Bristolian accent that’d be pretty accurate.  And you know I’m an accent fiend so like? So it’s really fun seeing Waverly’s point of view coming from the dingy streets of London to the… she sees both sides of Paris, from the gilded side and she sees the poor and destitute side.  And her living conditions are not great [laughs], her tiny one room apartment has black mould in it, she’s got bed bugs, there are probably fleas, I mean it’s not… and in order to afford this lap of luxury she is not only working as an assistant to Marie Curie but she is also working as a laundress for Bobo Del Rey.  So she’s having to do both of these things to afford to live in this tiny little shit-hole.

DELAYNE: Well, that sounds like most cities.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, but I think there’s something particularly, what’s the word I’m looking for here, not descriptive, but um, visceral, you know when you picture it in a time in history where there are certain luxuries that we have now, that even come in the most shitty apartments, that wouldn’t have existed at that time.  Like for example indoor plumbing, so yeah. Whereas Nicole is royalty essentially so...

DELAYNE: One of my favourite things is where Waverly freaks out when she’s in open space because she’s grown up in London, in the city, on the poor streets, and now she’s in Paris.  And when she leaves London and she’s panicking on the train because there’s open fields and she’s like, “what’s going on?” And it takes her a while to be able to be comfortable to even walk through gardens and I just… it’s so adorable and of course, it endears me towards Waverly and you know… words… sorry.

DARKWICCAN: Well, what I pictured when she was going through that experience of everything’s too big, and it’s too open, it reminds me of my cat Bridget and when she occasionally thinks she wants to go outside and she goes outside and immediately flattens herself down, because it’s too big, the sky is too high and you know...

DELAYNE: There’s too much space around me and it’s pushing on me.

DARKWICCAN: It’s too big!  It’s too big. But it makes total sense given her background.  But I love that green_ola takes advantage of Waverly’s hyper intelligence and puts her in this field that is male dominated but in spite of that has these incredible innovators like Madame Curie and other scientists and inventors that green_ola brings in to the storytelling.

DELAYNE: And provides pictures as well.

DARKWICCAN: And provides pictures, always with the pictures and historical factoids.  And I love how green_ola makes a point of having these characters constantly comment on how they have to struggle in this male-dominated field where they are not taken seriously despite the incredible works they have accomplished, in the case of Marie Curie, her work was attributed to her husband.  And so that sort of frustration but even so they are so driven by this need to discover and learn.

DELAYNE: And science!

DARKWICCAN: Science!  

DELAYNE: The need to science!  I understand that as well.

DARKWICCAN: Yes, I figured you’d appreciate that.

DELAYNE: I’m not as strong as these characters and the historical people obviously, but I do get that way sometimes.

DARKWICCAN: But yeah, Nicole’s story is also very interesting, her involvement in political intrigue and trying to assist a sort of underground movement and the pickle she almost gets herself into there but fortunately Waverly is there to help redirect her a little bit, as well as listening to advice from the other historical figures that make appearances.  But it’s really interesting to follow her story, and I also love the fact that she’s that sort of wealthy where she doesn’t think about how wealthy she is. And Waverly’s sort of reaction to that, “you’re really not even thinking about the money that your spending, that’s wild, what a wild idea.” And I also like that the romance, of course there’s a romance, it’s a Wayhaught story, is slow, and I think when they reach a point of agreement with each other that  it’s very well earned, there’s nothing rushed about it. It’s just awesome you guys. So good.

DELAYNE: This one is, you know, the first couple of encounters with Nicole are...

DARKWICCAN: Not great.

DELAYNE: Yeah, not great.  Whereas with the western, well, there was a not great scenario, both fics, when they meet there is a lot of depth and layers to... it.

DARKWICCAN: Just green_ola’s writing in general is very much multi-layered in general, lots of depth, nothing is superficial, everything is well thought out and meticulously researched and planned.  I mean that in the fact of whether its historical facts and figures or diving into the human condition and psychology and how would a person react or what would a person be thinking given where are they coming from, or their past experience, or their status.  Fantastic, fantastic storytelling. Both of these stories are finished so there should be nothing holding you back from reading them. And I am so excited to chat, more or less, with green_ola. And I say more or less because green_ola is concerned about losing her anonymity by speaking on air.  So just like we did previously with BeelikeBumblebee we went ahead and sent green_ola our questions in advance, they were kind enough to send the answers in writing and this time we have booked voice actor Mandy Rose Nichols to come in and read the answers on air for us in our interview segment.  So these are green_ola’s answers but they will be voiced by Mandy Rose Nichols. So once again it is thanks to our Patrons that we are able to book voice actors in to cover for reading answers provided by our fantastic authors for whom English is not a first language, so again thank you so much to our patrons for their assistance for making this happen.  

 

[CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT.]

 

Music: Sugarland Shimmy by Kristoffer Maddigan

DARKWICCAN: Hey everybody and welcome back to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction.  I remain your host DarkWiccan and with me is my fantabulous co-host...

DELAYNE: Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: And we are so excited because we as you know spent the first half of our show talking about the incredible historical fiction works of green_ola, as I mentioned previously Green is a bit worried about their anonymity so we have engaged the services of a fantastic voice actor Mandy Rose Nichols, who we are so excited to be having here reading back Green’s prepared answers so Mandy welcome to the show.

MANDY: Thank you so much for having me, this is going to be fun, I’m looking forward to it.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, I’m very excited, as I was talking to Delayne earlier I’ve been wanting to work with you for some time now so I am thrilled to have you on board today.

MANDY: Sometimes the work opportunities come in interesting and different pitches.

DARKWICCAN: This is absolutely the truth, one hundred percent, so are you prepared to step into green_ola’s shoes?

MANDY: I am, let’s see where this goes.

DARKWICCAN: Alright, here we go. Hi green_ola and welcome to the show! Would you like us to call you 'green_ola' or something else?

GREEN: Let’s go with  _ Green _ –it will be less of a mouthful.

DARKWICCAN : How did you get involved in writing fanfiction?

GREEN: My first experience with fandom culture in general and fanfiction specifically was the Clexa fandom. I lived my entire adult life in blessed ignorance, limiting my hyper-fixations to a sad existence in my brain. Imagine my surprise at discovering that there are people out there who obsess about the same characters, about the same plotlines as me, who spend long hours making gifs just to overanalyze them over and over again, who make awesome fanart, and who write fanfiction! Fanfiction always seemed to me like something inferior to the “real” literature; people who read or wrote fanfic were always the butt of a joke, you know? But when I actually started reading fanfic for Clexa, I discovered a trove of literary treasure. Not counting technical writing, I’m not a writer, so it never actually crossed my mind that I could write fanfiction. Until, that is,  _ The 100 _ killed Lexa off, and  _ Wynonna Earp _ came along.

DARKWICCAN : [laughs] Yeah, you know it is an unfortunate misconception that many people think that fanfiction is this kind of, well, it’s very much maligned as an artform.  That it’s just like people messing around with the characters because they want to see them have sex together or something like that, and that’s absolutely not what fanfiction is about.

DELAYNE: Right, we are here, and we are very happy to help change that perception.

DARKWICCAN : That’s definitely our watch cry, the whole reason this podcast exists in the first place.  But you mentioned that you’re inspired initially by the whole situation with Clexa and finding out about fanfiction through  _ The 100 _ fandom and then you encountered  _ Wynonna Earp _ , so I have to ask what about the characters of  _ Wynonna Earp _ inspired you to write? 

GREEN: Now, I think we can all agree that these characters are lovely and special. But to tell you the truth, what really inspired me to write was this fandom and, maybe not a lack, but definitely a shortage, of historical fiction pieces within it. When I started reading Clexa fanfiction, the pure number of high-quality works was overwhelming and intimidating. I would never, ever consider writing for Clexa out of a sheer terror of not measuring up. With the WE fandom though, there is a certain level of kindness and openness to newcomers, which removed that obstacle from my mind. I knew I could write something for fun and it wouldn’t be unduly criticized. It also helps that the show has a certain historical feeling to it, even if the events are current. The Wild West vibe was what started my first fic, and here we are now, with at least five more historical settings banging pots and pans in my brain, begging to be let out.

DELAYNE: Oh, that’s exciting news.  I want to know, what came first? Was it the interest in history leading to finding badass and wlw historical figures or the need to find real life representation of badass and wlw women and finding it in history? 

GREEN: Having grown up in Europe, the appreciation for history was always there for me. But it wasn’t in that history-lesson type of a way, I was never into learning about what some dudes did at some specific date in time. It was always more about the people, the culture surrounding them, and how the historical background affected their regular lives, whether they wanted it to or not. Seeing old black-and-white photos, you always tend to think of the people of the past as overly serious or not very interesting or something, while in fact their lives were just as fascinating as ours. Thinking about how much more similar those people were to us than we can ever imagine always blows my mind, how they laughed at the same stupid jokes, fell in love, experienced bouts of depression, fought with their parents, and so on. Even if they lived, say, 500 years ago. The problem with history (or at least the history we learn in school) is that it focuses on straight white men, while completely disregarding the rest of the population. That’s where the interest in historical fiction comes from for me, it explores the lives of people often forgotten by the official records. Since, historically, men were in charge of writing down the chronicles, and then dominated the fields of history, archeology, and ethnography for centuries, we find those gems now, as the figures of Pompeii lovers or the entire life of Emily Dickinson. The old dudes in charge will come up with the most bat-shit crazy explanations just to avoid having to conclude that some historical figure  _ might have been  _ not entirely straight, calling Dickinson a hermit is one prime example. Whenever I learn about someone from the past, who didn’t marry and wasn’t known to have had affairs with (or any interest, really) in the opposite sex, and I have to read some historians flexing for an explanation, I just really want to smack them upside their thick skulls, because... You know...  _ People are gay, Steven _ . [all laugh] Always have and always will be. Sure, the socio-cultural framework of what it meant to be gay even just a hundred years ago differs from where we are now. A good example is Baroness Hélène van Zuylen, whom I included as a character in  _ By Trial and Error _ , she was a raging lesbian, yet she still married a man and had his children. It’s just the way things were back then, and I am ready to fight anyone who would dare to deny her her identity just based on how we perceive things today. So, to answer your question, DW, the interest in history came first for me, but I certainly gravitate towards learning more about women, who may not be as well-known as the men of the period, even if they were as accomplished.

DARKWICCAN : But you know what, you are absolutely right, you’re absolutely right, because this is actually something I was chatting about with the author Wrackwonder today over Twitter in that she was getting very frustrated, she was reading the autobiography of a very recent pop culture individual who there were rumblings that she may have been queer, but the historian writing this biography insisted there was no way.

MANDY: [mockingly] No no, not possible.

DARKWICCAN : Exactly, this has been going on just as long as straight white guys have been writing history which is pretty much forever, it’s “hello, we exist, we have been here since the dawn of time.”

MANDY: “It can’t possibly be, oh no, clutch my pearls.”

DARKWICCAN : So anyway, jumping back to your fine works here, in  _ Homesteaders, You and I  _ you've placed the characters in a time and place where being a wlw was incredibly dangerous and rights for women were unheard of; yet the period is romanticized in American history. What was your favorite thing about setting the story in this period? Least favorite? 

GREEN: Oh, man, don’t get me started on the mythos of the Wild West! I am as guilty as the next person for romanticizing the period, even though living out west for over a decade now I should know better. I hope some of that shines through in  _ Homesteaders _ , or I’d be rather unhappy with myself for perpetuating the lies. The most interesting thing about writing a story set in the Old West was learning more about some of the women of the period. For example, we all know about Calamity Jane, but the details of her life, many of which I didn’t even end up including in the story, are just fascinating. Much like Wyatt Earp, Martha Canary worked hard to create a greater-than-life image of her alter ego, Calamity Jane. It seems that many stories about her adventures were fabricated, while she tried very hard to erase the harsh realities of her life, like the fact that at fourteen she was orphaned and became responsible for all five of her siblings, or the fact that even after she started working as a scout for the US Army, she still had to make money as a prostitute. Details like that make her a three-dimensional person in my view, with all the bad alongside the good. She never pretended to be a saint, never hid behind a sheriff’s badge and claimed immunity from the law (cough, cough, Wyatt). 

 

DARKWICCAN and DELAYNE: [both laugh]

GREEN: As a woman, she was put at a disadvantage her whole life, and she lied, manipulated, and worked physical jobs just to stay alive.

             And, well... Let’s be real, Nicole riding a horse was also pretty high on my list of favorite things about setting the story in that period.The least favorite part for me, and it applies to most historical settings I can think of, would be the difficulty to identify and create two female characters who’d have enough agency over their own lives and then making them meet each other in a realistic manner. Women had been so marginalized it is challenging to stay at least somewhat historically accurate. I guess it’s a silly thing to be attached to, it is fiction after all, and I absolutely don’t mind stories by other authors who place those characters in historically impossible positions. (Nicole in shining armor? Sign me the eff up.) But I guess I see a value in trying to tell my stories with some vestige of accuracy since it’s mind-blowing to realize how depressed women’s rights had been.  I sort of cheated with  _ Homesteaders  _ and made Nicole impersonate a man. It was a fun twist to write, and I felt okay with it since there is plenty of evidence of women impersonating men throughout modern American history, name a time period, and sure enough, there were ladies pretending to be men in order to live a life they wanted for themselves. I wanted to make sure that the readers understood that Nicole was still a woman even if she dressed as a man, in order to avoid some of the clichés trans characters are plagued with and some of the stereotypes trans men face in daily lives. Still, in retrospect, I don’t think I managed to avoid all the harmful trans tropes and going forward I will definitely try harder to find historically plausible archetypes for two female characters. Or, who knows, maybe I’ll swerve towards historical fantasy, where I’d be able to blame a woman wearing pants on magic.

DARKWICCAN and DELAYNE: [both laugh]

DARKWICCAN : Are these pants you say?  They’re magical pants.

MANDY: You know, you roll a D20 and you’re in pants, there you go.

DARKWICCAN : So Green you’ve already [continues laughing] I’m just going to take a second here… Okay, serious.  So Green you’ve already listed a few of the historical characters in your stories. The cast of characters you feature throughout that are real figures really prop up the setting, whether it is the Wild West or whether it’s turn of the century France in the early 1900s. Did you feel it was important for the fic's authenticity to use these players or was it just for fun to see what could be weaved into the story? 

GREEN: Honestly, it was probably a bit of both. Using real historical figures provides a level of realism that helps in this particular genre. I use Author Notes extensively to share more of a background into those characters and/or historical events. And so, I can go and say, listen –I know it sounds crazy, but it’s totally true! This thing really happened, or that person really did that! I can’t complain about the lack of imagination, but some of the stuff that these women did or that happened to them without their will is way above my pay grade. I think it also helps to rein me back to the reality of the given time period and the overwhelming lack of agency women had more often than not –it’s very easy to stumble over some stupid mistake and give a historical female character access to things we take for granted now.  (As an aside, the ability to expand your story via the Authors Notes is such a cool and fanfiction specific thing!)

DELAYNE: you know I never thought about that.

GREEN: There is also something cathartic about writing and/or reading about strong women who kicked ass and kissed girls in real life. We sometimes hear this argument that this or that is a product of our times, and how people miss “the good ole days”. It applies not only to women or LGBT people but also to POC or mental health issues, etc.  And the thing is that just because you, Lindsey from Nebraska or you, Todd from Ohio, have never heard of a black Jewish lesbian or a female soldier or a trans woman in your history lessons, doesn’t mean they didn’t exist until the 21st century. Uncovering the lives of some of these women and sharing them with the readers in this silly format hopefully provides some level of normalcy and validation to us all.  And to drag this conversation back to the lighter tones, it’s also super fun to pick a time period, make a list of interesting historical characters and events, and run with it. In  _ Homesteaders _ , I had multiple meltdown moments and was ready to trash the whole concept because the people and events I wanted to include didn’t align accurately. I ended up being vague about the actual decade of the late 19th century when those events supposedly occurred since the assortment of women I chose to feature didn’t all live at the same time. And, thankfully, this fandom is full of wonderful people, and no one came swinging a tome of Wild West Encyclopedia at my head for historical inaccuracies

DARKWICCAN : [laughs] There’s only one person I could imagine doing that and I know she never would and that’s Smurf.

DELAYNE: [laughs] Yeah, I’ll beat you with my giant book here. 

MANDY: Yeah, I just have this vision of being beaten with the Encyclopedia of Wild West Inaccuracies, boom.  

DELAYNE: So you mentioned that just aligning these historicals characters, I’m wondering  were there any that you really wanted to add but couldn't make fit? Why did you decide not to include them? 

GREEN: There are several notorious women of the Wild West era that didn’t end up making it into  _ Homesteaders _ –Laura Bullion (aka the Rose of the Wild Bunch), Belle Starr, Etta Place, the list goes on. The main reason was that we know very little about their lives, and what we do know sounds quite repetitive –they often came from poor families, tried to support themselves with any work they could find (which most commonly ended with sex work), survived encounters with abusive men, and ended up on the wrong side of the law one way or another. Flushing out a well-rounded character with this little information is difficult. I also didn’t want to pack the story with historical figures just for the sake of it –I wanted these characters to have a role in the plot. Pearl Hart played an important part in Nicole’s journey, as did Calamity Jane, but had I added one or two more of those female outlaws, there may not have been enough distinction between them for the readers to really care. Historical fiction is such a specific niche already that I would hate to sour the readers who may have some interest in it but came to AO3 for Wayhaught content specifically and don’t want to wade through twenty pages of characters from outside of WE universe to get it. That’s also one of the reasons I used a real historical figure –Sally Skull –as Wynonna’s fugitive alter ego. Sally was quite a character, and I would definitely not want to cross paths with her in a dark alley. Aligning her deeds with Wynonna’s character was easy, and it seemed like a better idea than trying to force Sally into the storyline

 

            The story I’m working on right now (spoiler alert) is set about 100 years before  _ Homesteaders _ . Without giving too much away, there is plenty of historical evidence for an involvement of women in the events, yet the surviving records provide us with even less information about their lives than what I had to work with in the Wild West era. So, what I’m doing right now is taking the little bits and pieces that we know about these women, the heroic actions they undertook, and their motivations, and attach them to the characters from Wynonna Earp universe, like I did with Sally Skull. We’ll see whether it works out or if it’s a complete failure! There are even more historical figures that didn’t make the cut in  _ By Trial and Error _ , mostly because –I kid you not –it seems like everyone in the nineteen-aughts in Paris was either gay, bi, or trans. 

DARKWICCAN : [laughs] I believe it, Gay Paree. 

GREEN: The first people who come to mind are Colette and her lover, Missy de Morny. Colette was friends with Renée, who appears in my story, but I figured folks were probably familiar enough with Colette thanks to the recent movie of the same title. And it’s not like I have some hidden agenda to secretly expose people to less-known historical wlws, but it’s a pleasant feeling when the readers leave me comments saying they’d never heard of so-and-so and they were surprised to find a prominent lesbian or a strong, outspoken woman in that time period. I didn’t even know where to start with Natalie Clifford Barney and the people she had affairs with or who just simply passed through her famous Parisian salon. After all, there was a really good reason why Radclyffe Hall used Natalie as the model for one of the characters in her  _ Well of Loneliness  _ (if you haven’t read that book, go do it now –published in 1928, it was probably the first well-known English language novel centered around lesbians). Including three women in the fic who Natalie was involved with (Renée, Lily, and Romaine) already felt like too much, and I had to constrain myself from mentioning her other lovers, like Olive Custance (a British poet) or Dolly Wilde (Oscar Wilde’s niece).

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh my gosh, wow.  Really it gets to the point where there are so many historical figures you could draw from that you’re no longer writing a Wynonna Earp fanfiction anymore, now you’re just…

MANDY: Yeah, it’s a litany of lovers at that point and you’re like, “who do I include, and who do I not.” 

DARKWICCAN : It’s the early 1900s Parisian version of Alice Pieszecki’s The List.

MANDY:  Right, Parisian [inaudible].

DARKWICCAN : So let’s talk about 'Trial and Error' specifically here, you captured both the beauty and the poverty of early 20th century Europe (particularly France). What was important to you about how you presented both aspects of this world?

GREEN: There is something frighteningly similar between the state of the western world at the beginning of the 20th century and now; and I don’t only mean the state of our politics. The recent wave of successful populist and nationalist politicians, both in Europe and in the US, stems from deeper socio-economic factors that are eerily similar to the nineteen-aughts. The level of fear mongering and scapegoating is also the same. And I’m not saying it to sound alarmist, I don’t think we’re headed towards the next world war; I think we’ll find a different way to fight those conflicts, like trade wars or internet wars. It was important for me to show those similarities –again, probably because I like to think about how people’s lives are just the same throughout history. I used Bobo as a 20th-century industrialist, disgustingly wealthy and unscrupulous. There were many men like him in American history as well, like Rockefeller or Carnegie, but since they were also philanthropists to varying extents, we tend to paint them in a better light. Anyway, where was I going with this? Oh, right –Bobo! So, I used him to highlight some of the arguments industrialists and, later, capitalists, have always had, “we can’t raise minimum wage, or we’d be forced to close our factories”, “we can’t provide safer working conditions or healthcare, or we’d be forced to take it out of the worker’s paychecks”, etc. Does that sound familiar? It should because that’s, for example, how Amazon operates now, and how Bezos came to be worth $150 billion. It’s perplexing to me to see that we still fall for the same bullshit. And then we have Nicole and Waverly falling on the opposite spectrum of that social hierarchy. I wanted the character of Waverly to represent kind of a common person of that time period, city dweller, working several jobs, including one in a factory. She’s had a harsh life but doesn’t really stop to think too much about it or to get involved with the workers movement, probably because she’s too focused on staying afloat (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, people!). When we first get introduced to Waverly in canon, she’s just an ordinary person, a girl-next-door, even if you can see there is something special about her. That’s where I drew the inspiration from. Nicole, on the other hand, has inherited her wealth and is kind of a harmless socialite, she may not be as evil as Bobo, but her social status makes her blind to the struggles of ordinary people. We see her be very eager and trying to get involved with things she maybe shouldn’t really be involved with, that came from Nicole’s early characterization in canon, where she wanted to be involved with BBD without really understanding what the organization was really about. There is something misguided about Nicole that makes her character interesting to me.

We have a bit of fun banter when their worlds first collide. Waverly (canonically,not a great judge of character and a bit too trusting) is not Nicole’s greatest fan initially because of the second-hand information she has from Bobo. There are not a lot of differences between them to begin with, maybe other than the quality of clothes they wear, but as we continue on this journey with them, we start to slowly discover how their past influences the people they are today. It all culminates with Nicole being incapable of understanding why on earth would Waverly stay in her shitty apartment when she could afford something better with her scholarship money. That mild conflict was interesting to write. We are all different and the people who we form relationships with, be it friendships or love or anything else, often have different backgrounds as us. In this story, it wasn’t only the social status that separated Nicole and Waverly, they had a different cultural and ethnic background as well, which perhaps caused as many misunderstandings as the money issue. Finding a way to bring them together, regardless of all those differences, was challenging and fun, but I also wanted to make sure that their different social status wasn’t a base for an unhealthy power imbalance. Just because Waverly came from an impoverished background didn’t make her worse than Nicole; if anything, she ended being the smarter of the two, helping Nicole with the explosives, and she seemed to be less emotionally stunted.

DELAYNE: Wow, it’s a lot of interesting points.  This is very informative, as much as the fics have been.  Which do you find more difficult, or indeed easier, with your style of writing: remaining accurate with known historical factualities or plotting the unknown of character development and emotion?

GREEN: I find that there are three powers constantly at war when I write: A) my obsession with historical accuracy, B) the journey I want our characters to go on, and C) staying true to the canon characterization of those characters. Not a single one of my stories so far has been 100% historically accurate, and I really struggled with it initially. As I mentioned before, featuring all those badass female outlaws in  _ Homesteaders  _ was fun, but they didn’t live in the exact same time period. For example, Sally Skull was 54 years older than Pearl Hart, so the whole scene when Wynonna (aka Sally) is upset with Pearl being put on trial was all made up and couldn’t have happened in real world by any stretch of imagination. In  _ By Trial and Error  _ I had the daring train robbery happen a whole year earlier than it actually did (although I kept the correct month!), since it was more important for me to begin the story with an accurate date of Marie Curie’s appointment at the Sorbonne and her first lecture. Ultimately, I had to sit myself down and explain that it doesn’t matter all that much, that nobody will care, and that it’s not like I’m spreading some harmful misinformation or lies. This has been a PSA, kids, don’t use my fics as a reference for a history paper! Drafting the plot for the characters is easier, although I admittedly still stumble with burdening them with modern emotions and feelings. Would a Wild West era Waverly go through the same journey while discovering her bisexuality as a 21st-century woman? Probably not. But I don’t have any other reference, and since I write for myself and a 21st-century audience, we all need to connect with some part of those characters. Would Nicole circa 1907 be a useless lesbian who walks into a chair because a pretty girl smiled at her from across a café? Ugh, I would hope that historical lesbians had more game than that but who knows? I’m not a historian or an anthropologist so all of my stories might be contextually wrong for all I know.  And finally, the canonical characterization is what made those characters who they are. It’s important for me that at the core they are still the same Nicole and the same Waverly, whether I toss them into the 20th century Europe, the 19th century US, or the 13th century Iceland. If their characterizations differ, then they become OCs, and that’s not my goal. One of the more exciting things about writing fanfiction is trying to fit their personalities into different time periods. And I realize that we all take something else from their characterization, but there are some things that truly define who they are –like Nicole’s loyalty, bravery, and kindness, or Waverly’s personable nature, big brain, and her constant struggle with abandonment issues. Mixing the three things together is really where all the fun begins. I start with selecting a time and a place; then I try to identify where women fit in that society, and who Nicole and Waverly could be; and finally, I map out a journey for them, constantly asking myself, “What would Waverly do?” and “What would Nicole do?”

DELAYNE: Good question.

DARKWICCAN : You know, that’s a great question.  I think that’s something that we Earpers actually just ask ourselves of daily, when we ask ourselves of something.

MANDY: Bracelets should be made.

DARKWICCAN : Yes, totally, bracelets should be made.  So Green, thank you so much for sharing your answers with us, this has absolute pleasure talking to you by proxy today.  I’ve really been enjoying your latest work  _ Loyalty of a Shield Maiden _ and I can’t wait to see how you wrap that up.  You’re such an exciting author and I’m certain we’re going to have you back on with us chatting about historical fiction and  _ Wynonna Earp _ going forward.  But before we let you go we do have a tradition here on the Earp fiction addiction and that is our killer final question which I always hand over to my far more warm and fuzzy, and much more trustworthy co-host Delayne.

DELAYNE: [inaudible] been described as warm and fuzzy.

MANDY: You’re in a snuggie right now aren’t you.

DELAYNE: I am in a snuggie, how’d you know? Alright, you are stranded on a Desert Island and can have only one fanfic to read (any fandom). What is it?

GREEN: you don’t pull any punches, do you?  I guess i’d choose  _ A Place is Only a Place _ by thrace. I truly admire this author for their unique ability of world building and coming up with extremely fascinating scenarios, while staying true to the characters.  After reading that fic you won’t remember what happened in canon and what didn’t.

DARKWICCAN : Alright, well I am more than happy to, actually I think this is the second time this particular piece has been requested as the desert island fic, so I am once again more than happy to provide a link to  _ A Place is Only a Place  _ by thrace, still love that rhyming scheme.  [laughs] So at this point, Mandy, I am going to ask you to shed the mantle of Green and welcome you back and thank you so much for joining us today to do this for us.

MANDY: Absolutely thanks for having me, this was great, I love learning like there’s so many times you get introduced to new things, you think you’ve got a handle on stuff and you think, “oh that’s something cool I want to go check out myself.”

DARKWICCAN :  You should totally check out  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction, you should totally check out  _ Wynonna Earp _ if you haven’t watched it yet.

MANDY: Well, that’s the thing, I was like Clexa heck yeah, and then I was like, “oh my god, there’s a whole ‘nother world.”

DARKWICCAN : It is, and it’s incredible and you’ve totally got to check it out.  Ladies and gentlemen I think we’ve made another Earper.

[All laugh]

Music: Don’t Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Maddigan

DARKWICCAN: And that'S all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.

 

Tremendous thanks to Green_Ola for providing answers to our questions about their historical fiction AUs.

Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro and to actor Mandy Rose Nichols for reading Green's answers on air. 

Background music for the episode was:

A Proper Story and In case of Trouble by Darren Korb

and Sugarland Shimmy and the outro music Don't Deal with the Devil were both by Kristoffer Madigan

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast. 

And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.

And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	29. Fly Me Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This week DW is having to do a little improvising as all of her co-hosts are literally up in the air! Luckily, she convinced her pal Newt to join her to discuss Baggerheda's (aka Boo_in_LA) delightful airline AU!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/fly-me-away)

 

Read the Fic!

####  [Out Of The Wild Blue](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14398767) by [BaggerHeda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaggerHeda/pseuds/BaggerHeda)

 

Episode artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://efapodcast.com/youareavision.tumblr.com)

 

Episode Transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [MrsBlueBacon!](http://efapodcast.com/twitter.com/mrsbluebacon)

 

EFA Episode 229- Fly Me Away

 

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

 

MUSIC : Write My Story by Olly Anna

 

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the Earp Fiction Addiction, a fan podcast all about Wynonna Earp fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the Wynonna Earp fandom.

 

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

 

DARKWICCAN : Thanks announcer guy and welcome, everybody, to the penultimate episode of season two of the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and with me is my very, very ultra special cohost--

 

NEWT : Newt. awol-newt.

 

DARKWICCAN : Newt! Welcome back to the show. Boy, how interesting is it being on this side of the conversation?

 

NEWT : Uh, a little peculiar. I was like “ok, hmm, well, I can ramble about fic for a good twenty minutes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Twenty-five, thirty minutes.

 

NEWT : Twenty, thirty minutes, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, we got this covered.

 

NEWT : Well, you’re gonna fill in the other, the other blank space, right?

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s true. Yeah, absolutely. Everybody knows I talk way too much. So, no problem there. Got you covered. So, listeners, you might be wondering why our delightful Newt is joining us as my cohost. Well, it is the week before ClexaCon. Actually, ClexaCon is just two days from our recording date today, and my other cohosts are traveling. Both Laragh and NEWT are in the process of getting to Vegas. And what am I doing, you may ask. Well, I’m recording this episode for you and then I will also be hopping on a plane to Vegas, myself, uh, to join my buddies in the festivities in Sin City. Uh, but, fortunately, Newt was available and thankfully agreed to come on and chat with me for about thirty minutes or so about uh, the story we’re gonna be talking about.

 

NEWT : Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.

 

DARKWICCAN : I am, too. This is gonna be fun. This is like a whole new world. An adventure.

 

NEWT : Well, see, I’m gonna surprise you. Well, not surprise you, you know my nerdiness, and I’ve got a fun ace up my sleeve. From...

 

DARKWICCAN : You’ve got an ace up your sleeve? Oh.

 

NEWT : Well, I like to think so. Ya know, gotta prepare for Vegas.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok. Alright. That’s a good point. ‘Cause you’re going down as well, but you’re not leaving until tomorrow right?

 

NEWT : Correct.

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright. Alright. Actually, you’re gonna beat me there, too. ‘Cause I’m not gonna get there ‘til Thursday.

 

NEWT : Oh, I will probably be sleeping the day away on Thursday. Until the afternoon, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Gotcha. Well, that’s perfect timing ‘cause we get in Thursday evening, so you’ll be nice and refreshed.

 

NEWT : Yes. For all the shenanigans.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Ready to go. [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT] are you ready to take to the friendly skies?

 

NEWT : Uh, I think there’s clear skies, so I think I’m ready.

 

DARKWICCAN : Clear skies ahead, no signs of turbulence. And why are we speaking in airline metaphors? It’s not just because we are gonna be flying to Vegas shortly. It is also because of the story we’re talking about this week, which is “Out Of The Wild Blue” by BaggerHeda aka boo_in_la. This is a fantastic flight attendant Waverly, pilot Nicole alt universe story.

 

NEWT : Better buckle up.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Fasten those seatbelts.

 

NEWT : Fasten those seatbelts, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Make sure your tray tables are in the upright and locked position.

 

NEWT : And all carry-ons are stowed, and I don’t even know. I’ve flown so much, I should have this by memory. But, ya know, I fly so much I don’t even listen anymore.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, exactly. I should know this by rote at this point. Oh, I could probably, if I was on the plane, I could definitely mouth the words along with the, with the flight attendants.

 

NEWT : Probably.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, but, but this story is so cute. [laughter]

 

NEWT : It is. It’s so fluffy.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is, I think, one of the fluffiest things that Boo has ever written.

 

NEWT : I was actually thinking that. I was thinking this, I think this might be the softest thing that I’ve, I’ve read from Boo.

 

DARKWICCAN : I agree. I agree, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s because it’s the first AU that they’ve ever written.

 

NEWT : Yeah, I mean they did mention that, in that it was just kind of a niggling brain worm, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes, yes, and I’m so glad they gave into it.

 

NEWT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because this is just a delightful story. Now, most people are familiar with Boo as being one of the more explicit authors, uh, in the fanfic world, and this fic...

 

NEWT : Quite tame.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...is not explicit. It’s, it’s very tame. Very tame. [laughter]

 

NEWT : Like, surprisingly tame knowing it comes from Boo.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly, exactly. Like, when, initially when this story started posting before, it’s seven chapters long, and initially when it first started posting and was up to chapter five, up through chapter five it was rated, I think T or G, like real, real low stakes rating, and then all of the sudden in chapter six it popped up to a mature rating, and I think everyone finally went “ah, here we go. Here we go.”

 

NEWT : [laughter] And then it didn’t.

 

DARKWICCAN : And then it didn’t. But that, ya know what, it’s still...

 

NEWT : It’s still lovely.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...yeah. It didn’t need it. The story...

 

NEWT : No, it didn’t.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...didn’t need it. And I honestly think that it would have taken away from the story and how...

 

NEWT : Well, yeah. So much of like that sweet rom-com, kind of, ya know, meet cute kind of thing, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly, exactly. And I mean, you gotta appreciate, Boo is very much on form here in descriptions. I mean, you get so much delightfully vivid descriptions of Waverly in her um, flight attendant uniform and Nicole in her captain, or co-captain uniform and how she’s wearing her hair and so you have this wonderful clarity of vision of, of what the folks look like and how they might exist in that environment and it’s very satisfying.

 

NEWT : Yeah, and the details, of course, they are what make fics a lot of times. Just the details on bidding on routes and, ya know, that little bit on feet aching um, ya know, and just general, general experiences and flying and um, things you wouldn’t think about such as appearance and making sure that, ya know, you’re rolling your lint roller over your jacket, making sure everything looks crisp and tidy.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. I mean, the things that we don’t really necessarily think about when we fly, um, that, but I think we would notice if we had a flight attendant and they were clearly a bit disheveled, or, ya know, if the Captain’s bars were askew, or something like that.

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but because of the, kind of, oh, what is the word I’m looking for here? Uh, not, not the rules of engagement, but the um...

 

NEWT : Etiquette.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...best practi...etiquette, there you go. That is just part of airline culture that we expect from our crews and our attendants, um, that if it’s not there, it’s really glaring.

 

NEWT : Oh, yeah, I was gonna say, traditionally, well, not traditionally, but back when, way before probably either of us were born, um, airlines, ya know, flying on an airplane, you get dressed up and look pretty savvy and um, your airline folks had to match.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, absolutely. Well, and that was in the days when when, uh, airlines, if you were flying on an airlines, if you were taking a flight you probably were very comfortable. [laughter] Um, and, uh, and so, you know, you were, and of course you were, going back to the fifties and the sixties, you were kind of saying that, sort of, standard social graces of the time, people, men wore suits and women wore dresses and gloves and hats and so there was this sort of decorum that existed that doesn’t anymore. And I’m gonna admit, I’m so grateful...

 

NEWT : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...that we’re a bunch of slobs now. I think. [laughter]

 

NEWT : That we were sweatpants and be all cozy once we’re on the plane.

 

DARKWICCAN : Exactly.

 

NEWT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And I just mean just in general because there’s this, um, I think that was a very uptight time where...

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...everything, even more so than today, appearance was everything, and uh, so, I do appreciate the far more casual, kind of, culture that exists now. Not just in flying, but just generally speaking.

 

NEWT : Yes. I mean, I will say, in regard, in that regard, um, ya know, we don’t usually see much about the passengers, um...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

NEWT : ...for a story about uh, ya know, flying. We get some little snippets here and there, um, and really though it’s focused on what is it like for Waverly to be this flight attendant and kind of her experiences with Chrissy. We don’t, we don’t see as much of that which I think is necessary, not to take away from, kind of, their experiences. I wouldn’t have minded a few more tidbits of funny interactions, but um, I did like the reference to some actor who was on a show about fairies, or some such.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. [laughter]

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : How Waverly thought it was pretty cool.

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : There was a semi-famous person on her flight.

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah, that was really cute. Um, but yeah, we do have Chrissy Nedley in this story...

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and she’s like Waverly’s bestie and I [sing song] love it.

 

NEWT : I love Chrissy.

 

DARKWICCAN : Love Chrissy Nedley.

 

NEWT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Yes. [laughter]

 

NEWT : Need more Chrissy. Especially like best friend Chrissy ‘cause she’s just so opposite and they just work.

 

DARKWICCAN : They really do, and I think even if you’re pulling the characters and their backgrounds, ya know, pulling them from canon, I think that if Chrissy hadn’t been so hung up on appearance, again, there’s appearance.

 

NEWT : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Causing problems. That she would have been far better and a far more loyal friend to Waverly to season one, um, and I would like to get to know that Chrissy. That loyal Chrissy who we really only get in fic these days, and uh, I, I, ya know what I think is so great, is that um, in fanon, it’s sort of been decided that Chrissy is this better person and I think it’s because fans of the show really tapped into the fact that she is capable of being a better person, and so they just gave this trait to her and, that we’ve expounded upon in fanfiction, and it’s just always a joy to see bestie Chrissy.

 

NEWT : Yes, I love the fanon and I do think, I mean, Waverly wasn’t too fond of, and I’m gonna blank on their names, um, the other girls, the...

 

DARKWICCAN : Stephanie Jones?

 

NEWT : Yes. Um, but I mean, Chrissy wasn’t the person who she was, ya know, finding so uh, terrible during the party, and I think, I think with that in mind, like, yeah she realized that maybe she didn’t have the best friends, but at the same time ya know, Waverly is still the town sweetheart and I can’t imagine her sticking around too much with uh, some vain and mean girls.

 

DARKWICCAN : Right, yeah. There’s that weird thing that lingers after high school, when um, you’re trying to figure out where you fit in and you’re trying to, kind of, hold on to the familiar while also trying to seek out your own identity, and I think that’s kinda the world we caught Waverly in, in season one.

 

NEWT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And interestingly, I think that’s also where we are, a little bit, with the Waverly in this story.

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because she and, ya know, Chrissy were best friends all through from elementary school onward and they made all these plans to become flight attendants together and they actually achieved that goal, but now they’re adults and they’re still very good friends, but Waverly is starting to try to figure more of herself out, and I just love the fact that Chrissy is there as a cheerleader for her.

 

NEWT : Yes. Still, still kind of the outgoing, I don’t wanna say party girl, um...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

NEWT : ...much more social.

 

DARKWICCAN : Definitely.

 

NEWT : And still, still encouraging and trying to play the supportive friend, um, for sure.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah, absolutely. Well, she’s the one who kind of nudges her in Nicole’s...

 

NEWT : Both of them.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...direction.

 

NEWT : Uh, because she was talking to Nicole about Waverly, in the first place, too.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm, yeah. Exactly, so that, again, I just love that we have Chrissy who is insightful and who, even though Waverly has never said anything and hasn’t really even conceived of the idea of being interested in women herself, I mean, that’s one thing I love about this story, is it is very much about Waverly’s journey to self-discovery and understanding of what she really wants in her, ya know, heart of hearts without really knowing it because she’s kept that uh, kind of locked away from herself to the point where she’s completely unaware of the possibility.

 

NEWT : There’s a lot of oblivious panicking baby gay going on.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. [laughter] There is, and ya know what, that’s kind of cute. When it’s not...

 

NEWT : Well, we’ve all gone through it, to some extent.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah we have. To some degree or another and uh, when it’s not, when you’re not the one having to deal with it, in real life panicking baby gay, and it’s just like “oh my god, could you chill?”

 

NEWT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

NEWT : Calm down. Don’t overthink anything. Everything.

 

DARKWICCAN : Don’t overthink. Just go with the flow. Yeah, when [laughter], when it’s a fictional baby gay panic, it’s a lot more endearing and adorable and maybe, and in this instance, because there are fics out there where we have panicking baby gays and it is a little bit “oy”...

 

NEWT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...but in this instance it’s more, kind of, endearing and, and understandable, um, and not over the top.

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : And yeah. So, were there any moments that really stuck out to you specifically in this story?

 

NEWT : Um, I mean, ya know, um, you and I have spoken on this before, and uh, their first date is, well, their so called date, not really date, is at a coffee shop.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

NEWT : So, of course, I had paid attention to that, but I did like, I did like how Boo draws on a lot of the dialogue in season one, particularly with Nicole and those sorts of interactions and still plays on them. Um, ya know, and Waverly asking her for coffee and, ya know, um, or Nicole asking Waverly for coffee, and Waverly, ya know, remarking that Nicole should try, when they’re not working, to ask her out, um, but yeah, and it goes back to coffee and cappuccinos and uh, ya know, they end up at a coffee shop for well, ya know, tea and cappuccinos, so I think, I think that little tidbit and then we move on to um, some of the key moments to their relationship, kind of, rehashed, um, in this sort of AU.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes. Uh, I really enjoyed the moments when they were, um, working on flights together.

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Because they both have roles that they have to fulfill, um, not only because it’s their job, but they’re having to bear in mind the safety of passengers and crew, and things like that, and um, I, there’s one scene where Waverly has to step into the cockpit while um, Nicole’s copilot, who in this case is Dolls, has to step out for a lav break, and so Waverly is, is standing in the cockpit and uh, they have the conversation that, ya know, more or less, they have the conversation that happened in the patrol car in episode one, season one episode nine, and I really enjoyed the way that Boo reclaimed that dialogue and changed it just enough to work for the scenario that they’d created, and because it’s not like Waverly can get out of the car. [laughter]

 

NEWT : Yeah, yeah. She’s a little stuck.

 

DARKWICCAN : She’s a little stuck there. They’re thirty thousand feet up, she’s not goin’ anywhere. Um, so because of that and because of being aware of the fact that they are stuck together on this plane for the next however many hours of the flight and they have to work together professionally, that forces Waverly to be more reasonable, in that moment, which I really enjoyed.

 

NEWT : Yeah, and, I mean, it goes back to the etiquette that we were discussing earlier, um, and I mean, they have that conversation about professionalism, um, and kind of, how do we deal with this at work, and I think having to think through that, and saying “ok, well, what is and isn’t acceptable in these particular roles that we have as part of our employment”, ya know, and having that really, sort of, mediate the “oh my god, what, ya know, I like this pilot, I like my coworker”, ya know, sort of drama crazy insanity, what have you.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, having to navigate that situation and do so in a way that doesn’t cause problems for everyone around them.

 

NEWT : There’s not autopilot for...

 

DARKWICCAN : No.

 

NEWT : ...relationships.

 

DARKWICCAN : There is not. If you’re in a relationship and you feel like you’re on autopilot, you need to have a conversation with your partner. [laughter] That is not what we want. [laughter]

 

NEWT : Yeah. You may have to start looking for those parachutes.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

NEWT : See, I’m gonna start trying...

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, maybe not.

 

NEWT : ...to slip in as many plane references as I can here.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, go for it.

 

NEWT : I feel like there haven’t been enough so far.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Really? I feel like we’ve been flying high.

 

NEWT : I mean, ya know what, maybe it has been, ya know, pretty smooth sailing, but I don’t know, I like to think that I’m pretty pun-y, and I would like to think that maybe I’m a little more clever than I am, so, we’ll see.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Alright, I, I’m very excited, waiting with my little bag of peanuts in hand to...

 

NEWT : Of course, now I won’t be able to think of anything, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Oh, no. [laughter]

 

NEWT : I mean, you should have peanuts not, peanuts and pretzels, not just…[laughter] I’m trying. I’ve been up since four in the morning.

 

DARKWICCAN : Do you. [laughter] Oh, you caught an early flight this morning, eh?

 

NEWT : A very early flight.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

NEWT : Unfortunately, not to Vegas yet.

 

DARKWICCAN : Not to Vegas.

 

NEWT : And not to Calgary. Calgary would be pretty fun.

 

DARKWICCAN : That would be great. Hey, speaking of Calgary, now Boo never states, specifically, which airline uh, they’re flying. They just refer to the company, they refer to the airline as “the company” and so I’m gonna guess, based on other conversations I’ve had with Boo, that it’s supposed to be Air Canada.

 

NEWT : I was, well, I mean, they’ve got the, the red scarves, and I think there was a lapel pin or something somewhere.

 

DARKWICCAN : Maple leaf lapel pin or something, yeah.

 

NEWT : Yeah. Yeah, so I mean, it makes sense, um, I wasn’t quite sure ‘cause I know they had mentioned smaller, not Canadian, I don’t know what they are, their smaller sort of, domestic airlines might be, or if it’s predominantly Air Canada, but ya know, they talked about smaller regional airports and then also major hubs, but it seems like the flights that even Waverly and Chrissy and Jeremy are um, working on, they’re still pretty large, I mean, from Calgary to Ottawa to Toronto, Regina, still pretty big, uh, airports I would imagine, so, Air Canada makes sense?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah, I think, and again, I’m basing this on insider information.

 

NEWT : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : And this is conversations we’ve had quite a long time ago, actually.

 

NEWT : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Uh, but, if I recall, I, I’m pretty sure, I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be Air Canada, and um, there’s a, had to have been a lot of research that went into uh, manifesting, [snicker] manifesting...

 

NEWT : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...manifesting this uh, fictional, you can’t see I’m making air quotes, airline ‘cause there are, all, not just the details of what happens in flight, but there are like F A A regulations and the Canadian version of the F A A.

 

NEWT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : And uh, and there are all these rules and things that, that affect how pilots and how even airline attendants, do their jobs, that inform how they do their jobs, so I mean, and it’s so very clear that the work has been done into understanding um, ya know, everything that has to fall into place on every flight.

 

NEWT : Yeah, I mean, the research is quite clear, and I mean, there’s lingo in there, too, ya know, you’re talking about jump seats and, as I said earlier, bidding on routes, and ya know, just, just the general sort of conversation um, that’s had, um, among our, our lovely characters.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. I do enjoy how, how there is discussion about having a relationship, or trying to have a, ya know, relationship while you’re in this type of field is very difficult because of all of the different uh, schedule changes that exist. There’s no, kind of, set, firm schedule, uh, to their lives, um, yeah.

 

NEWT : And I will say, I think, I think this is one of the things that I really like about this story from Boo, is that it could have quite easily turned into some sort of long, drawn out, angsty long-distance relationship, um, sort of longing, pining, um, ya know, we can never be together kind of thing, um, but ya know, it’s smoothed over because this is a real thing that people do, and um, ya know, still kept it, ya know, nice and simple and a good little love story that, ya know, still doesn’t seem unrealistic.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh, yeah, absolutely. I feel like the story is so many things at once. It’s a bit of a rom-com, uh, it’s a coming out story, um, it also is a, I’m trying to figure out how to describe it, it, it’s like [laughter], not gonna say documentary, that’s not true.

 

NEWT : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

NEWT : Day in a life.

 

DARKWICCAN : Day in the life. There we go, thank you, thank you, so much. You rescued me, Newt. I’m so glad that you’re here, right now. [laughter]

 

NEWT : I, ya know what, I had no idea that might have been what you were looking for, but I’m glad it...

 

DARKWICCAN : That is what...that is exactly what I was looking for.

 

NEWT : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : Thank you so much. Um, but uh, but it has all of those elements, and uh, and even though the story is, I mean, arguably simple, it’s still complex in the details.

 

NEWT : It is, yes. Um, and again, ya know, those details and this is where I’m going to, you have insider information, so I don’t know, but you may have to ask Boo in the interview section for this, uh, but me being me and being interested in coffee, and just the details in the geography, um, that Boo put into the story and the thought that Boo put into the story, I had to try and figure out which coffee shop uh, it might have been that they went to. Um, and ya know, yes, ok, well, the fun thing is, as much as I hoped it would be Phil and Sebastian ‘cause there’s one near Olympic Plaza, and that area, um, I mean, I’m familiar with Phil and Sebastian, which is why, anyways though, the actual coffee shop that I would like to wonder if this is my, this is maybe what Boo found, it’s actually called Waves Coffee House.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

NEWT : Yes. There’s a Waves Coffee House. There are frozen drinks, and chai and everything there, and if you walked from there you would hit Olympic Plaza, and if you kept going you could hit, uh, what is it, Prince, um, Prince Island Park.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

NEWT : Yeah. So.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well...

 

NEWT : Yes.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...I am gonna make a note to ask Boo that. [laughter] And.

 

NEWT : I’m curious.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, that is some excellent research that you’ve done there, and that’s in Cal, Calgary?

 

NEWT : It is in Calgary.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is in Calgary, ok. Alright.

 

NEWT : Yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : I’m gonna have to make a note to ask Boo about that. That’s a very good point, and good on you for sleuthing that out, I have a feeling you’re probably right, and I have a feeling because Boo would totally do that.

 

NEWT : Yes. Well, I mean, so, the geography, and again, these are just those small little details that Boo puts in, um, as far as, she had the whole, or they had the whole, um, ya know, “we’re at the coffee shop, we’re gonna go for a walk, yes, let’s head down to the park. Oh, and wait, let’s cross over to the island park and see, or walk down to the plaza and then to the park”, and um, that’s a very specific route to take, and kind of wondering, “now, what sorts of details” um, and I know that I’m somewhat of the same way, when I’m, uh, writing things out, I kinda wondered the same things about some of the, the flight routes that Boo came up with, as far as, ya know, did they research the time that it took from, ya know, one airport to another, and calculating flights and did they look at actual flights and their frequency, and again, just those small details that I imagine Boo, like many other fic authors, including myself, those details that we get a little obsessive over that nobody necessarily appreciates, but we love ourselves.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] We absolutely do love and I love the fact that you actually went into research mode as well to sort of backtrack the path that, that Boo describes. That is fantastic. And Newt. I’m so happy you’re here right now, I’m so happy.

 

NEWT : That was, that was, that was, uh, my frequent flyer card...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh.

 

NEWT : ...comin’ out.

 

DARKWICCAN : That was your, that was your ace in the hole.

 

NEWT : Hopefully, that’s my, that’s my ace, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : That is fantastic.

 

NEWT : So.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, I’m absolutely going to be asking Boo about the research that was done for this. I will definitely be asking about the coffee shop, to confirm.

 

NEWT : Waves Coffee House.

 

DARKWICCAN : I’ve got a feeling you’re right, uh, and that is coming up in our next segment, [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

MUSIC : Aviary Action by Kristoffer Maddigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And welcome back, everybody, to the Earp Fiction Addiction, the podast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. I am your host, DarkWiccan, and I am all alone, sort of. I don’t have my cohosts with me. I don’t have a Laragh, I don’t have a Delayne, I don’t have a guest cohost Newt. It’s just me, friends because all of them are currently enroute to ClexaCon. I am hot on their heels and will be following them shortly, but I am very lucky to be speaking with the author who is, uh, written the incredible story that we were discussing previously, “Out Of The Wild Blue” and she’s actually already at ClexaCon, so this is really exciting. I’m interviewing somebody on the ground in Vegas, as we speak. So, you...

 

BOO : Right this afternoon. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : Welcome to the show. Welcome back.

 

BOO : Well, thank you very much. I’m happy to be here, and thank you so much for asking me uh, back for a second time. I’m looking forward to what you have to say about the story.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, yeah, I mean, our listeners already know that we absolutely love this story, uh, we spent an entire thirty minutes just gushing about it in the previous segment, so. And luckily I had guest cohost Newt with me, to, uh, to gush because it would have been weird if it had just been me gushing into a mic...

 

BOO : [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : ...for thirty minutes, but yeah, we absolutely...

 

BOO : I have faith in you. I bet you could do that if you wanted to.

 

DARKWICCAN : I probably could, but I don’t think anyone would really wanna hear that. [laughter] We need to break it up a little bit, multiple voices are better. Um, but uh, yeah, so before we talk about your story, let’s talk about the excitement that is ClexaCon twenty nineteen.

 

BOO : It, it, I’m really looking forward to everything that’s uh, I’m here, a Wednesday, when we’re recording this, so I’m here...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : ...a day early, and everybody, most everybody’s gonna show up tomorrow. But I did run into a couple of people today. There are a few early birds on the ground here, uh, already wandering around in the Tropicana and uh, I have not gambled a cent yet. I’m a, I’m here for the queer and not for the gambling, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Which is really the best reason to go anywhere, is to be there for the queer. Yeah.

 

BOO : You got that right.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] So, that’s gotta be exciting. You’re there a little early...

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and you’re already startin’ to see familiar faces. I mean, that’s one thing I absolutely love about, uh, these conventions. More so with the Earper specific conventions, but I mean, ClexaCon is basically become an Earper convention...

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...with extras. Um.

 

BOO : Yeah. I think it’s at least half Earp, but I am not wearing an Earp shirt today. I have, actually, a Sriracha shirt on right now because I was touring that factory earlier this week, and uh, tomorrow it’s gonna be all Earp shirts all the time, but today is my break from that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome. So, wait a minute. You toured the Sriracha factory. I have to ask you...

 

BOO : Yeah. Down in Irwindale, yeah.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, I have to ask you, wha, how, how did it smell? [laughter]

 

BOO : Um, very, uh, chili garlic. It is a potent smell, and you get use to it after about five minutes inside the doors, but it really smacks you upside the head when you first walk in. Um...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : ...we didn’t do a lot, it was just a short little tour and we were doing this as sort of a team building thing with my team at work as a sort of side thing between meetings.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

BOO : It’s just one of those odd things that we do. So, it’s really crazy. I’ve had a weird week. I had all these, these large team meetings, uh, at my work place and uh, we were staying at a hotel in Universal City, about a mile from my house, but everybody had to be onsite, and then I went to ClexaCon. It’s like, “ok, I’m off. I’m on P T O and I’m taking a week on vacation”, so, uh, I don’t get to be home at all this week, but ya know, that’s life, and, so I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow. You’ll be comin’ in and uh, ya know, there’s uh, uh, uh, a whole swarm of people that’s headin’ this way, and uh, I’ll, lookin’ forward to seein’ everyone. It’s start of con season ‘cause I didn’t get to go to Emerald City. I know you saw a bunch of people up there, so we have ClexaCon this month and then there’ll be Expo in a couple months, and then we’re all gonna be together again in Toronto soon.

 

DARKWICCAN : I know. I’m so excited. This is a very, it’s really the most wonderful time of the year. Uh.

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : Well, just give us back our show and we’ll be happy. We’re in the midst of the fight for Wynonna. Who knows what’s...

 

DARKWICCAN : We are.

 

BOO : ...gonna happen, uh, in the next week or month, but we’re all still waitin’ to hear, so, ya know, hashtag fight.

 

DARKWICCAN : Speaking of the fight for Wynonna, did you see the article that, oh gosh who, there was an article that came out and I can’t remember the trade paper that issued it, that said...

 

BOO : Couple of days ago?

 

DARKWICCAN : Eh, I thought...

 

BOO : Like about a week ago, maybe?

 

DARKWICCAN : Like about a week or so ago, that said that there was a possibility, a strong possibility that they could reopen the writers room as soon as June.

 

BOO : Yeah, they were saying, like, second quarter writer’s room. I think that was Variety, but I might be wrong. Um, and it was my impression, I mean, obviously we don’t get to talk to the writer’s room, we just get the same rumors as everyone else, but um, it was my impression that a lot of the show was already written, or at least all the episodes were already broken. I seem to remember, maybe Emily posting something like that. Um, or not. And, uh, uh, maybe there’s a good chunk that is written already and, or maybe mostly written and it’s final polishing stages or something. That’s what I’m hoping. So, as soon as the, yeah, as soon as they give the green light, I’m hopin’ they can get into production really, really fast. That’s my wish.

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s a great wish. I honestly don’t think that they’re that far along in the writing process. I think that they’ve got the arc planned out. I think they have the short story arcs for each of the first three episodes, uh, mapped out. I don’t think that they’ve been broken uh, and I don’t think that they’ve been written, or they’re not in their final stage, uh, at least, because the thing is, writers have to be paid to do the work.

 

BOO : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, I think what happened was in late twenty eighteen. Emily started reconvening everyone under the notion that they were gonna start shooting in mid to late January. Started to reconvene everyone and they started to spitball the arc and figure out the general idea of what’s happening in episode one and two and three.

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, so, they were starting to get that figured out, but once, I think, probably as early as late November, is when Emily was being brought up to speed on the fact that things were not looking good...

 

BOO : Wow.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...and so she had to close the writer’s room.

 

BOO : Ya know, uh, and I don’t, I’m not keepin’ notes, so I don’t know where they are, but um, that totally makes sense, but it’s like we’re all just screamin’. Just get goin’ already and fix it, but we don’t know how to do that. The people who need to do that work. We just wanna, we just have to keep yelling at them, I guess. Ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : We do.

 

BOO : And let them know our enthusiasm, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

BOO : Onward.

 

DARKWICCAN : And the silence is, is really disconcerting. I mean, at this point I don’t expect them to come out with a full “here’s how we’re going forward and we found a solution.” I’m not waiting for that. I’m just waiting for a “hey guys, we hear you and we are still working on it.”

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Don’t lose hope.

 

BOO : I don’t need the details. I just need...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : ... I just need a response of some sort. I don’t need the, the plan, ya know. Just, just tell us you’re gettin’ goin’ and then get goin’. That’s all I wanna hear.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm. Yeah. Absolutely. Well, speakin’ of gettin’ goin’. Let’s...

 

BOO : Ok.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...get goin’ on this, this fantastic fic of yours. This delightful AU, which, hey, this is your first AU.

 

BOO : It’s the only AU I’ve written so far, but I’m...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

BOO : ...not sayin’ there aren’t other ideas tumbling around in my head, but it’s...

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

BOO : ...the only one I’ve managed to get down to paper, and uh, it is fun, isn’t it? Don’t you just love pilot Nicole? That was the entire idea behind this AU, was thinking of Nicole in that pilot’s uniform.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, yeah, as you were saying, this, this is, the image of Nicole in a pilot uniform is what sparked the idea, so, so let me phrase my question then. What about, what about this image of Nicole as a pilot made you go, “ok, I gotta sit down and write this story.”?

 

BOO : Hmm. Let me answer the question by approaching it, uh, a little bit different angle, right? Is, I, I was one of these people that thought “oh, I’m never gonna write an AU” but then again I was one of these people that thought “oh, I’m just gonna write one fanfic and be done” and we know how wrong that turned out to be, so um, I see, I like the concept of AUs, but I never thought I’d come up with a good one until this one sort of clonked me on the head. This was, I think I like woke up with it one morning, or it was a shower thought, or something. It was like “oh, the flight attendant trope, ya know”. As an author, I think a lot of us sort of, cast around for, oh, what setting, what trope, what angle can I use for this, and either none of them that had sort of popped into my head had appealed to me or I thought I wouldn’t be able to execute them very well, until this one. And I thought, “oh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a flight attendant AU done in the  _ Wynonna _ universe. I’d seen it done in other, uh, uh, other fics, uh, uh, other fandoms. But this one, it just seemed really, really natural to me. Um, thinking of AUs that you can put WayHaught into, you want something that suits Waverly’s bubby sort of personality, and you want something that fits Nicole’s, sort of, quiet authority, and this one, it just sort of burst upon my head, sort of, as a complete thing. It’s like “oh, they will so fit into this, this genre really, really well.” I can see Nicole as a pilot and I could see Waverly as the flight attendant, and after that, it was just writing it. It was the idea sort of came to me complete.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so Waverly and Nicole just naturally fell right into these roles, and you just sort of went along for the ride.

 

BOO : Yeah, it didn’t feel like I was tweaking them very much at all. And also, part of the fun of writing AUs is you can sort of take canon dialogue and reformat them and make them fit into this different universe, while still carrying the same meaning. And it worked perfectly for this AU, or ya know, as close to perfect as I could get it. Uh, I, there were some things where I could just take the rather iconic dialogue parts and just plop it right into their characters and it worked for them, so that, that was, it wasn’t a huge, the inspiration, there wasn’t a big, lot of work that had to happen after that initial inspiration. It was just, “ok what do I need to learn about this world to, uh, to make, to make the story work?”

 

DARKWICCAN : And, ya know, actually, that’s something that Newt and I were talking about pretty much, at great length in the first segment, and that is that we loved the reclamations of dialogue that you incorporated into the storytelling because it added this degree of, um, I don’t know, not legitimacy ‘cause it is legitimate no matter what, but it added this element of, of connection...

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...as a reader that you could relate to that moment in canon and be like “oh, yes. Oh god I totally see what’s happening right now.”

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, yeah, we really, really loved that.

 

BOO : Yeah, it was really fun to do, too. Sometimes, I would have to work a little bit to get to the line that I knew I wanted. ‘Cause I, it, you know that Nicole, after meeting Waverly for the first time, is gonna turn around and say “I mean it”, but uh, ya know, but to get to that moment in the AU might have taken a little work, ya know. Some of them were like that, but some of them it was just a lightbulb moment and I said “oh, that’s where that line goes” and it just came to me that way.

 

DARKWICCAN : It just naturally fit right in there.

 

BOO : Right.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, another thing that we talked about in the first segment, was the amount of, uh, detail that you included in the story here, and one thing that I am a huge fan of is fic research, and so I just wanna know, how much research went into learning the policies and procedures of airline travel?

 

BOO : Well, you and me both. I think we’re both fic research hoes.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : And, so, uh, I didn’t know very much at all, about the day to day life of what a flight attendant does. That is all research. Now, I will tell you a little story. My mother, back in the day, when planes still ran with propellers and not jets, she was a flight attendant. Back then they were called stewardesses.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : And she worked for a major airline, not PanAm, but the number two airline at that time was Trans World Airlines, T W A, an airline that no longer exists, and my mom was a stewardess for them.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

BOO : So, since I was a little kid, I grew up on stories of back in the day, back then stewardesses had to be unmarried and they certainly couldn’t be parents, at that time, and they were all female at that time, of course. And, um, the uh, uh, the thing that she flew for a number of years, until my sister and I came along. She got married and then we came along and that was when she stopped flying. So, uh, I’ve always grown up with stories of the back in the day, when mom was a stewardess. So, updating those stories to uh, modern times, didn’t exactly work ‘cause it was a very different job back in the fifties, than it is now. So, I had to start my research from scratch, but still the story is all from Waverly’s point of view, obviously, um, we don’t get to see very much of anything that’s happening in the cockpit because that’s not the research I wanted to do and that’s very hard research to be able to do online. A lot of that stuff is kept from public eye for a reason, but I could find out a lot of what the day to day job of flight attendants is in modern times, and uh, how they, how their schedule works and how their daily work flow is. ‘Cause it’s not a nine to five job. It’s a, it’s very different from what most people do. And I wanted to be able to put a lot of um, authenticy into the story. I tried to get it as right as I could. I know a lot of people who work for Southwest Airlines, which is, even though it’s not named, it’s Air Canada.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes!

 

BOO : It actually works very like Southwest because those are the people I could talk to, but all of my friends who work for Southwest are under the wing employees. Meaning they are the ground crew or they’re maintaining the aircraft, or whatever. I don’t know anybody who works onboard the aircraft, so, it’s all research, and it’s all Google searches. It’s crazy. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : I did a lot of research for this one. This is probably my most heavily researched story because there’s a lot of details to get right.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, speaking of details, not only do you have the details of the uh, goings on of the, what happens on an airline, or on an airplane during flight, and what it’s actually like for the, um, the airline attendants and crew...

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...in their daily lives, but also, there were geographical, uh, geographical things that you called out. I have to ask you, on behalf of my pal Newt...

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...when you have WayHaught go on their little coffee date, do you have them go to Waves Coffee Shop?

 

BOO : I have them go to [sigh] because it is the...no. The short answer is no, I don’t know the name of the coffee shop, I just know that there is a coffee shop about three blocks south of the bridge to go to Prince Island Park. Is that the name of it? Waves?

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s the name of it, Waves.

 

BOO : Oh. Ok. I, ya know, I think that’s a bit of a lucky coincidence, but...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : ...I knew that there was, ya know, I know where downtown is, I know where the Glenbow is. The Glenbow gets mentioned in there. I know where the Olympic um, the uh, the Olympic Park is, so yes, that’s all, uh, ya know, that’s all from my experience of being in Calgary, but I didn’t know the name of the coffee place, but yeah, it’s that one. [laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Newt’s gonna be thrilled to hear that...

 

BOO : Ok, good.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...whether or not you knew it was called Waves. Uh, they’re gonna be thrilled.

 

BOO : But that, that’s actually pretty cool it’s named Waves. That’s a happy accident.

 

DARKWICCAN : It is. It’s very cool. Um, so, ok, so, in this story, you feature, of course, Waverly and Nicole. You’ve got Dolls in there, you’ve got Jeremy and Chrissy. Thank you so much for having Chrissy.

 

BOO : Don’t you love that, Chrissy makes her appearance?

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

BOO : Any fic you can put Chrissy in is a good fic, I think.

 

DARKWICCAN : Absolutely. Uh, but the person that, ya know, I, may, I can’t, oh, you have to forgive me, Boo, it’s been about a few, crazy couple of days, but um, I can’t recall if Wynonna even appears, but if she does appear, it’s definitely as a tertiary character, kind of on the outskirts. If you had to fit Wynonna into this world in a more central role, where do you think you’d put her?

 

BOO : Well, here’s the thing. Here’s the reason why Wynonna doesn’t show up. She’s um, she’s mentioned, there’s like one sentence where Wynonna...

 

DARKWICCAN : Ah, ok.

 

BOO : ...gets mentioned, and I don’t think she’s mentioned by name. It’s when they go on the coffee date, and Nicole’s talking a little bit about her past, and Waverly starts talking a little bit about her past, and she, there’s the sister who’s galavanting around Europe, last she heard, with her middle finger raised on general principle.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : That’s all you hear about Wynonna, and she’s never mentioned by name. The reason is, this is the Waverly that got out of Purgatory.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mmm.

 

BOO : And Wynonna, and the Waverly-Wynonna story happens in Purgatory. And this, this is a no demons, Waverly has expanded her horizons now, and she’s gotten to the city, she doesn’t live in the small town anymore, and so, Wynonna exists, but she doesn’t really belong in this story, if that makes any sense to you, so I don’t know how I would fit her in. More than, I, for Wynonna to get into the story, you’d have to go back to, ya know, the conflict that’s happening with the supernatural, whether or not you wanted to bring the supernatural into the AU or not, there would need to be a conflict in which Wynonna is the uh, is the, the vector of the resolution of the conflict, if that makes any sense, and uh, so it’s not really in this story because this is a fluff piece. This is a WayHaught piece, uh, I originally conceived of it as, from the first meeting to the first time. That’s why it doesn’t continue further than it does either. Uh, it, I didn’t, and, and, it’s not one of my typically, ya know, I usually write with the explicit rating, and this one I knew I wasn’t going to. Um, it barely makes that M rating.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : It’s just slightly above that T, um and ya know, there’s reasons for that as well. But I knew this was going to be very, very different from most of what I’ve written, uh, for the  _ Wynonna _ fandom. So, that’s why Doc doesn’t show up anywhere either because without the supernatural, where’s the reason to have Doc, or his character?

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : It’s mostly just WayHaught and the people that revolve around them, more than anything.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : So.

 

DARKWICCAN : So, so, the only way that I would think that, in a non-supernatural way, that Wynonna could be brought into the story, a little more centrally, would be if, as, would be if there was a sequel to the story, and uh, Nicole and Waverly were trying to utilize their schedules to try and achieve, Waverly’s goal is to try and travel the world, and they would meet up with Wynonna in Greece on a stop over or something.

 

BOO : Mmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : That would totally work. Or you could have Wynonna returning because Wynonna’s return to Waverly’s life is very important in the fandom.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : It’s um, and sort of have her become the, ya know, sort of, in her central role as the cockblocker and the wynonnus interruptus, and have her interfering with the progression of the relationship that way, but ya know, I didn’t, I didn’t wanna punish them that way.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] I mean, they had such a difficult time getting together in the first place, why add that to the mix?

 

BOO : Well, ya know, it’s, it’s like Waverly is always trying to figure things out, it’s like “oh, don’t overthink it baby, just go for it.” And uh, and, ya know, Nicole is being her patient self, just waiting.

 

DARKWICCAN : And, something that I talked about with Newt, is that I absolutely love Waverly’s journey and the way that you describe the, Waverly’s journey to understanding that yes, she does have an attraction to women, yes, this is ok, and yes, this is something that she absolutely needs to explore.

 

BOO : Mhmm yeah, that’s the whole purpose for this story, is Waverly figuring things out. I love being in Waverly’s head that way, and how she, I, I sort of have this imagination of uh, Waverly spends a lot of time, ya know, thinking things through and talking things out with herself, um, she has a very vivacious internal monologue, in my head canon.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : And, so, she’s always second guessing herself in some ways, so she’s like “yeah, I think I like this person, but does she like me?” Ya know, there’s that whole chap, that was originally supposed to be two chapters long, that whole Waverly’s moment of doubt, and Chrissy going “oh, just get over it.” And...

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : ...it, it, I tried to draw it out a little bit longer and it just didn’t work because eventually Waverly has to figure it out and make the leap, ya know.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : In canon that’s episode nine of the first season, where she finally is like “ok, I’m gonna go for it” and takes Nicole by surprise, and so, that whole, that couch scene, Nedley’s couch scene, is the thing that came through into the fic word for word. No words changed. Everywhere else canon dialogue happens, it’s not in a big, complete set like that, but for the couch scene it worked. And uh, I really loved revisiting it, and now I’ll never revisit it again because why would you do that twice.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] You can just rewatch it, or reread it.

 

BOO : Ya know, we all had it memorized, so...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : ...we know that dialogue, ya know, the “you know what I’ve always wanted?”

 

DARKWICCAN : We know it by rote, yeah.

 

BOO : Yeah, pretty much.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter] Yeah. Um, so let me ask ya, um, so you wrote this AU, this is the only AU you’ve written so far. You hinted a little earlier at having ideas, so I have to ask, did writing this AU open a little pandora’s box for you? Um, any plans to continue delving into the non-canon world in the future perhaps?

 

BOO : Um, I think, I think most writers, uh, at least consider writing AUs at one point, um, ‘cause they’re a very fun thing to play with and it’s a very writer-ly thing to do, it’s like “oh, what if I did this? What if I did this? What if I changed that?” It’s, it may be what I do in the future, from now on because I don’t know how much more of the canon versions of the, ya know, sexy times stories I’ve been writing, I don’t know how much more of that I can do.

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : As soon as I say that then something will come to my mind.

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : Or somebody will prompt me to something and I’ll have fun writing that, but no, I’ve actually got a few AUs cooking. Uh, in fact, my, last November I was, I started the NaNoWriMo, the national writer, whatever, that thing.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah, yeah.

 

BOO : The month of November, the novel writing thing, and that was a WayHaught AU that I had started, I don’t know, should I hint it on this podcast, or do you want me to save it for you?

 

DARKWICCAN : That’s entirely up to you. You are more than...

 

BOO : Well.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...welcome to hint whatever you wanna hint.

 

BOO : I, I’ve talked about this to a number of people, and I’ve talked to Lucky. Lucky works as my beta sometimes, uh, and I know I was talking about this with pigeon, at the last EhCon, um, is I’m thinking of a pirate AU, and I know pirate AU is something that’s been done a lot of ways, but I’ve got a different spin on it, and that’s the one episode of the E F A podcast that I haven’t listened to because I know you did a pirate AU uh, uh, episode...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : ...and I don’t dare listen to that because I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna inadvertently plagiarize stuff, but I can...

 

DARKWICCAN : Totally fair.

 

BOO : ...yeah, I’m sorry there’s one that I never listen to, but I think that the one that you were, in that episode, the golden age of pirates, meaning  _ Pirates of the Caribbean, _ like...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : ...late sixteen hundred era, whereas...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yes.

 

BOO : ...mine jumps forward by about a hundred and thirty years, and...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh.

 

BOO : ...a hundred and thirty years is, is an important number in our fandom, um, and that puts you into like  _ Master and Commander _ sort of era...

 

DARKWICCAN : Mhmm.

 

BOO : ...and the Caribbean was an interesting place at that time because there were still pirates. They were different from the prior, ya know, a number of generations ago, but slavery had been made illegal by both Britain and the U S. Britain had uh, defeated France in the Napoleonic Wars by that time, and were now the Naval power in the universe, um, but the U S was an up and coming, and the War of eighteen twelve was over by this time, and so, I had Captain Nicole Haught of the H M S Calamity...

 

DARKWICCAN : [sharp intake of breath]

 

BOO : ...and uh, Captain Xavier Dolls of the U S S Black Badge, are a couple of the main characters that I’ve written so far, and Waverly lives on the island of Purgatory, and so there’s all this stuff that’s going along, and I’ve gotten about eleven chapters into it, so...

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh my god!!

 

BOO : ...it’s, it’s comin’. I’m not sure what the timeline is now, but it’s probably gonna be about thirty chapters long, so.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh my gosh, I’m so excited.

 

BOO : Yeah, that’s...

 

DARKWICCAN : That sounds amazing.

 

BOO : ...that’s one that I’m working on. The others...

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

BOO : ...have not gotten any further than a couple of outline notes. Is uh, well, I’m not gonna hint to any of those, but there’s...

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah.

 

BOO : ...a few of them.

 

DARKWICCAN : Yeah. Oh, man, well, I am super excited about that pirate AU. When you complete it, I, I, yeah, I, I’m speechless, I’m so excited. That’s gonna be...

 

BOO : That’s the one I’m really excited about right now, but I keep hitting roadblocks and that’s taking me a little time to work around them, and so yeah, I occasionally chat about this with other people, and ya know, now you’re on that list, so…[laughter]

 

DARKWICCAN : [laughter]

 

BOO : ...if you come up with any ideas, come talk to me at ClexaCon. Ok?

 

DARKWICCAN : Alright, sounds great. And speaking of ClexaCon, I actually need to pack and get ready to go, so.

 

BOO : Oh, are we going over time here? I am so sorry, but...

 

DARKWICCAN : No, no, we’re not actually. We’re actually right on time.

 

BOO : Get me babbling. Get me babbling about fic and I can go on for while, you know that.

 

DARKWICCAN : Which is fantastic and I love that about you. In fact, I have one more question to ask, before I let you go so I can go hastily throw a bunch of t-shirts into my travel bag.

 

BOO : Mhmm.

 

DARKWICCAN : Um, so, you know that normally we have our, we, what fic would you take with you on a desert island, but we’ve asked that of you and we can’t ask that again, so...

 

BOO : So.

 

DARKWICCAN : ...my question in place is if you were to do a crossover story, where you paired  _ Wynonna Earp _ with another intellectual property, what would it be?

 

BOO : Mmm. Uh, I do have, and this is one of the ones that’s beyond a few notes. I’ve actually started a crossover fic as well. It, it does not feature Wynonna, again, it features Nicole, and uh, the crossover is with the  _ Supergirl _ universe. I want Nicole going on a motorcycle road trip with Alex Danvers.

 

DARKWICCAN : Oh my god, dude!

 

BOO : And this was something that uh, Jen, SidsmomJen, or FOMO Llama, uh, prompted me, maybe a year ago, for this.

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

BOO : And it’s been, it’s been bubbling on the back burner for awhile, and there’s some notes. So, that one may happen. I don’t know when. But, there’s details that are emerging in my brain...

 

DARKWICCAN : Ok.

 

BOO : ...so that, that, that’s on the list. It’ll happen some time.

 

DARKWICCAN : Awesome.

 

BOO : So, there you go. There’s the other, the other fandom that I would crossover with.

 

DARKWICCAN : Well, that is super exciting and I am looking forward to that story when you get around to it, no pressure. It’ll happen when it happens. Uh, but Boo, I am so excited to see you tomorrow. We’re gonna have a great time this weekend, and thank you again for taking time out of, out of your busy travel schedule to chat with me today.

 

BOO : Well, it’s been my pleasure, and safe travels to you as well. I will see you in Las Vegas in the very near future, and I uh, I hope you take good care of yourself and get here healthy. Ok?

 

MUSIC : Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

 

DARKWICCAN : And that's all for this episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us. Tremendous thanks to Newt for joining me as guest cohost, and to Boo, for chatting with me about her fic! Thanks also to our announcer, Byron Tidwell, for our intro.

 

Background music for the episode was: A Proper Story  by Darren Korb, Luau by Erik Barone, Aviary Action by Kristoffer Maddigan, with the outro music, Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan.

 

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E F A Podcast. And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E F A Podcast dot com. And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

 

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next time for another episode of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
> Follow us on Twitter: @efa_podcast
> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast


	30. Season 2 Finale Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We've made it to the end of another season! Join us as we thank everyone who made it possible, share news about the next season (already in the works!) and listen to the audiobook of the winning fic from the EFA Fic Challenge! Then, we sit down with winning author odaatlover to chat about their fic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #FightForWynonna

 

[Click HERE to Listen!](http://efapodcast.com/season-2-finale-special)

 

Read the winning fic!

[The Girl From Room 208](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17652644) by odaatlover

 

Episode Artwork by [Chantal Zeegers](http://efapodcast.com/youareavision.tumblr.com)

 

odaatlover's Desert Island Fic selection is: ['The Last Flame'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15918348) by igotopigfarts

 

Episode transcript for the Deaf/HOH/APD by [ApproxTenCats](http://efapodcast.com/twitter.com/approxtencats)

 

Ep 230: Season 2 Finale

[ph] – Indicates preceding word has been spelled phonetically

[sic] – Indicates preceding word has been transcribed verbatim

MUSIC :  Write My Story by Olly Anna

ANNOUNCER GUY : You've tuned in to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , a fan podcast all about  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction. Join our intrepid host DarkWiccan and Delayne as they dive deep into the sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, and always varied world of fanfiction for the  _ Wynonna Earp _ fandom.

MUSIC : A Proper Story by Darren Korb

DARKWICCAN: Thanks Announcer Guy and welcome everybody to the season two finale episode of the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfiction, and with me all the way to the finish line is my delightful co-host...

DELAYNE: Hi, it’s Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: [pause] I forgot to introduce myself.  I’m DarkWiccan.

DELAYNE: That’s what I thought.  I feel like we’re missing something here.

DARKWICCAN:  Well, it’s been a long season and i think I’m allowed one moment where I forget who I am.

DELAYNE: [laughs] I thought that was the amnesia fic.

DARKWICCAN: Oh you’re right, well a missed opportunity there.  It just came back around. You weren’t with us for that one. So this is your taste of that episode.

DELAYNE: I was not.  I appreciate you bringing that back around.

DARKWICCAN: You bet, absolutely.  So holy moley, another thirty episodes in the can.  Wow.

DELAYNE: Ughuhhuh.  Can i just make random noises?

DARKWICCAN: You can absolutely make random noises.  [CONTENT CENSORED. PLEASE VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]   Phew, those were a lot of words that I just spoke, those were a lot of words.

DELAYNE: [applause] Good job.

DARKWICCAN: But I understand Delayne that speaking of words and counts of words, that you actually sat down and figured out not only how many fics we read this season, but how many words we read this season so I am bracing myself because I don’t know what this number is you guys, this is going to be a genuine reaction from me.  Hit me with it. What are the details?

DELAYNE: No I’m going to build up.

DARKWICCAN: Oh god, you’re going to drag this out?  Just remember we don’t have a lot of time because we’ve got a thirty minute long audiobook to get to.  

DELAYNE: So, for point of reference we talked about 89 fics last year.  I had 44 lines but that didn’t include the series, some of the series had seven fics, some like 80s Mixtape had 39 fics.  Are we counting the first one? I’m going to discount the first one. So I’m going to count 38.

DARKWICCAN: That was in season one.

DELAYNE: I’m just going to count the 38.  Total that makes 93 individual fics.

DARKWICCAN: So we read four more fics this year than we did last year.

DELAYNE: So keep in mind since we are discussing the challenge fics today.  This does not include the 50 challenge fics.

DARKWICCAN: Oh jeez.  So we read 143. Wait, is my math right there? So we really read 143 fics.  Oh my god, we’re crazy. Not counting the challenge fics then, how many words?

DELAYNE: Caveat here of course is that I did not count the words of the Twitter fics.

DARKWICCAN:  Oh, okay.

DELAYNE: I counted the three twitter fics on the total fic list but I did not count the words on them so not counting those, we had 2,828,982 words.  That’s only for the 93.

DARKWICCAN: [whimpering]  Are you kidding me?

DELAYNE: So, including the Twitter fics, over 3 million.

DARKWICCAN: You’ve upset my dog.  Like… wow. That’s a lot of words. That’s a whole lot of words.  Well, you know, those are all the written words. I don’t even want to really think about the spoken words.  We spoke a lot this season and our poor transcribing team had to transcribe all of our many words. I actually can tell you, within the last, up to episode twenty five, because of course as you guys know we record about a month out, so up to episode 25 we have spoken over 234,000 words, and our delightful transcribers, our beleaguered transcribers, our incredibly generous transcribers have transcribed all of those words for us. I have to send a big thank you to @mrsbluebacon and @approxtencats, they’re our lead transcribers, they are the ones who have cranked out all those 234,000 plus words.  And then on the other side of things, the behind the scenes things where we’ve got bonus tracks we’ve got @khevzs and @happicheese. They have been transcribing those tracks which are in addition to those 234,000 words. I don’t have a count on those bonus tracks. 

DELAYNE: It’s a lot. It’s amazing.

DARKWICCAN: I’m so sorry you guys and thank you so much.  Alright. So before we get into talking about what we’re trying to lead up to as quickly as possible I’m going to drag it out a little more, I apologise everybody.  Obviously this is the season finale, exactly like last year’s season finale we are going to be featuring an audiobook of the winning fic from our fic challenge this season, but before we do that I want to talk about next season.  Okay, here we go. Yes. There will be a next season, we are already planning it, we’ve already got it scheduled out, we’ve already started coming up with episode titles and we’re selecting fics to go along with themes but as you know the past two seasons we’ve done thirty episodes, season three will only consist of twenty episodes.

DELAYNE: And why is that DW?

DARKWICCAN: Well, it’s not because we’re running out of fics to talk about, not by a long shot.  It’s because I won’t be able to record more than twenty episodes... because...

DELAYNE: Because...

DARKWICCAN: Because my wife and I are having a baby.

DELAYNE: Yaay!!!

DARKWICCAN:  More specifically I’m having a baby and my due date is in November so we have to wrap recording in October.  Normally I’d be like, “hardcore, let’s not even take a break between seasons, lets just keep going.” I am so tired you guys.  I need a little break. So we are going to take a few weeks off before we start recording season three. And I can tell you we are going to have a very special guest for our season three opener.  I can’t tell you who it is but trust me you’re going to want to tune in, it’s going to be amazing. But yeah, we’re going to start recording in late June and our first episode for the season three is going to go up in late July 2019.  And again we’re recording twenty episodes, if you can count weeks you’ll know that, well gee, that’s more episodes than you have weeks if you’re going to stop at the end of October. Well that’s when we stop recording, I’ll continue to post episodes, with a baby in my arms the following four weeks through the  end of November. So that is the plan. This is the first time I’ve said anything out loud about this, to people who are not Delayne, and Laragh, and my wife. But here’s the thing, by the time this episode airs it will already have been public for about a month so this will probably be obvious to everybody.

DELAYNE: [laughs] But I can see you’re very emotional speaking it out loud for real.

DARKWICCAN: Yeah, I’m a little nervous.  Can you hear that i’m nervous talking about this? This is very nerve wracking for a butch like me. “Yeah, I’ve got a baby in me, this is weird.”  I just knocked my microphone which is totally unprofessional. So yeah, that’s happening so we definitely will have a season three. I am optimistic that I’ll be able to figure out a way, as a planner that I am, that I’ll be able to make a season four happen.  Don’t be surprised if there’s a bit more of a hiatus between the end of season three and future season four but season three is happening. The dogs are very excited about this.

DELAYNE: Oh, I love their cameo this episode, this is great.

DARKWICCAN: Right?  Normally they are very very good, and very very quiet puppies but not today.  Um, and so yeah that’s happening. Yay. So let’s not talk about that anymore. [laughs]

DELAYNE: Let’s talk quickly about the winning challenge fic, how does that sound?

DARKWICCAN: Oh, so incredibly quickly.  So this season’s fic challenge was to write a fic based on the prompt “toothpaste.”  We had a total 51 entries...

DELAYNE: Actually 50.

DARKWICCAN: Right, it is only 50 because the one extra there is my post saying, “hey, this is the challenge fic thread.”  So yes, we had 50 entries and out of that we whittled it down to 16 finalists that then went to a public bracketed vote off across four weeks.  Those fics were voted down to our final two and the final two were  _ The Way to Found _ by coldmackerel and  _ The Girl From Room 208 _ by ODAATlover or One Day At a Time Lover.  And I’ve got to tell you Delayne, the competition was insanely close, it was so close.

DELAYNE: I never did actually look at the numbers. [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: It was really tight, right up until the last second when our winning fic had a bit of a surge from it’s supporters and created a bit more of a spread between the two.  But it was really a razor thin line of separation for almost the entire week and so both of these fics definitely deserved to win. I would say all 16 who ended up in the finalist bracket deserved to win, they all deserved to be there.  But these two fics were absolutely stand outs. And the ultimate winner who emerged victorious was  _ The Girl From Room 208 _ by ODAATlover and we are very excited to be presenting to you the audiobook today in just a couple of moments and of course we will be chatting with them about this fantastic story after the break.  

 

[CONTENT CENSORED. VISIT EFAPODCAST.COM FOR FULL TRANSCRIPT]

 

BEGIN AUDIOBOOK. VISIT  [ https://archiveofourown.org/works/17652644 ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17652644) FOR STORY TEXT.

END AUDIOBOOK.

  
  


MUSIC: GREENPATH BY CHRISTOPHER LARKIN

  
  


DARKWICCAN:  Hey everybody and welcome back to the  _ Earp Fiction Addiction _ , the podcast dedicated entirely to  __ fanfiction.  I am still your host DarkWiccan and with me is my wonderful co-host...

DELAYNE: Delayne.

DARKWICCAN: And we just got done listening to the audiobook of  _ The Girl from Room 208 _ , our winning fic for this season’s fic challenge written by the fantastic ODAATlover who is with us to chat about the amazing story that they’ve written.  ODAATlover welcome to the show.

ODAATLOVER: Hello, thank you for having me on.

DARKWICCAN: Well thank you for writing an awesome story my friend.

ODAATLOVER: Oh, you’re welcome, any time.

DARKWICCAN: So I can send you just random prompts now?

ODAATLOVER: Oh yeah, anything, especially if there’s unicorns and you know.  Especially if Waverly and Nicole are involved, I’m all into that. 

DARKWICCAN: Okay, well we are heavy into Wayhaught here on this podcast.  And now that I know that I can slip you a prompt on the sly I just might take you up on that.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

ODAATLOVER: I get like 35 by the end of this sentence...

DARKWICCAN: Exactly [laughs]

ODAATLOVER: I’m quitting my job, I have to write fanfic now, sorry guys.

DELAYNE: That sounds awesome, can someone pay me to write?

ODAATLOVER: Right?

DARKWICCAN: [laughs] That would be great because then we would all be published authors, which would also be nifty.  But then we couldn’t...

DELAYNE: But then we wouldn’t have time for podcasts.

DARKWICCAN: That would be no good.

ODAATLOVER: Look at us creating jobs.

DARKWICCAN: And immediately taking them away again.

ODAATLOVER: Yeah.

DARKWICCAN: Well, that’s the way a market works. I’m kidding.

ODAATLOVER: And that’s the end of this podcast.

DARKWICCAN:  [singing] Duh de da de da, great season everybody.

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Okay, let’s get down to bid’ness here.  So the prompt that we set out was “toothpaste” which I was super-dooper stupidly excited about because I thought it was so incredibly clever of me.  So I have to ask you, when you first envisioned this fic, was it always going to be from Waverly’s point of view or did you play around and go back and forth a little bit before you settled on her view on things.

ODAATLOVER: It was definitely from Waverly’s point of view, and in fact now that I think about it any time I conjure up a Wayhaught story, where they’re meeting for the first time I always see it in my head from Waverly’s side.  And I think that has to do with the fact that in the show when the relationship is first budding in season one we saw all of that from Waverly’s point of view. Which makes sense because she was one of the Earp sisters and one of the main characters and of course we would see it from her side more than Nicole’s.  Also because I feel like her side was a little more important to show just because her feelings that she was experiencing were all new to her, and she was just discovering herself. And Nicole was already pretty confident with who she was so I think it was more important to show all of that from Waverly’s side. So at this point I can’t even imagine seeing that from Nicole’s point of view when we see their first meeting, even though in  _ The Girl From Room 208 _ Waverly isn’t exactly discovering herself.  But anytime I see them meeting up I see it naturally from Waverly’s side, and it’s just kind of more fun to write it from her side because Nicole is so cool and smooth and Waverly is this nervous mess who just rambles and it’s so cute and so relatable I feel.  So it’s definitely more entertaining to write it from Waverly’s point of view, for sure.

DARKWICCAN: Well, I don’t know, I think it would be really funny to see a Nicole POV story where Nicole somehow manages to come off as smooth and cool when she’s in front of Waverly, somehow.  But the rest of the time she’s just a complete disaster.

ODAATLOVER: Yeah, you know what I actually sort of added that at the end when they kind of ask each other out you sort of see Nicole a little nervous but she’s trying not to show it.  But we know that she is a little nervous. And I feel like she is like that, like she tries to be cool and she does sort of come off a little cool, but on the inside she’s freaking out a little bit.  Yeah, you’re right, that would be very entertaining. Someone go write that. It’s not going to be me.

DARKWICCAN: You can get your friend igotopigfarts to do that.  By the way, tell your friend, that name is both hilarious and annoying.

ODAATLOVER: I know, I never say it, I’m just, “that person.” You’re not going to get me to say it.

DELAYNE: I would call them “pig” but I actually have a dog named that now so. [laughs]

ODAATLOVER: What if it actually is your dog?  Your dog is a fanfic writer.

DELAYNE: Well, heelers are very smart so you never know.

ODAATLOVER: Yeah, you’re like, “pig, you’re never around anymore, what are you doing?”

DELAYNE: We are going off the rails, let me get us back on here.  So the prompt, toothpaste, were you entirely inspired by toothpaste or was this an idea that you then put toothpaste into.

ODAATLOVER: I would say I was zero percent inspired by toothpaste.  

DELAYNE: [laughs]

DARKWICCAN: Oh man, shot through the heart.

ODAATLOVER: I’m sorry.  I mean it was a good idea for a prompt but I don’t know why, it was so difficult for me to put it in.  That was a lie, it wasn’t that difficult. I don’t know, it was tough for me to try to figure out how to fit toothpaste into a Wayhaught fic I guess?  But the idea kind of started, I had the idea that I wanted it to be a college alternate universe because I hadn’t written that before, and I wanted this to be something that I hadn’t done before because it was going to be something that was fun for me to write, you know.  And I thought that would be fun and cute and I just sort of had this idea of Waverly to have a crush on Nicole and that she would awkwardly bump into her somewhere and it would be this super-dorky but adorable situation right? And that’s about as far as I had let myself get before thinking, “okay I have to somehow throw some toothpaste into the mix here without it seeming random or weird,”  so I thought to myself, “okay, i have two options for a setting here, this could either happen at a grocery store where they’re buying toothpaste, or it could happen in a bathroom.” And of course I chose the bathroom because it seemed like the more entertaining option. Just imagining them bumping into each other in the bathroom versus the grocery store, I don’t know, it just sounded more fun to write.  So I was like, “okay, I have to get some toothpaste in here, I’ll just have Nicole ask Waverly for some toothpaste,” and that’s all I had as far as planning before I actually started writing it. And it’s funny because I feel like people think that I have this whole outline planned out when I write a story or a chapter, and that is not at all the case. Most of the time, yeah, not at all, most of the time I just have this idea that pops into my head of the beginning, the middle or the end, but it won’t usually be two of those things, and it’s definitely not all three, it’s usually only one of those things.  And then I’ll start writing that part and then based on what I have written things just kind of flow naturally in the moment and I kind of like that because even though I’m a thorough planner when it comes to most of my life, whenever I create stuff I never want to overplan because I want it to feel more natural and I want it to go somewhere where it feels like it should go in the moment, instead of trying to force it because I had planned it beforehand, you know. I definitely never planned out the dialogue or anything, I just put myself into the minds of these characters and just let them sort of do the work themselves.  So with this story I started to write the beginning and when I got to the end of the first scene, because that was all I had planned so far, I thought, “okay, well where is this going to go next?” Well naturally I felt like Waverly would go and tell someone, and that person was Wynonna, because you have to have some Wynonna in a  _ Wynonna Earp _ fanfic alright?  Even though it’s a Wayhaught fic you have to have Wynonna in, she’s just so hilarious, she’s like the comic relief.  And then I had that whole scene with Waverly talking with Wynonna and after that because of the conversation they had I knew that next was her actually going to go ask Nicole out.  And as I started that scene I had originally planned to end it there with them going into the dorm room and that was going to be it. But then I thought I actually want to show them getting together but I don’t feel like I have enough words left in the word count that I was given by you guys.  But at that point I didn’t feel like I had enough words left to write their date, because I just thought I would over do it so instead I thought why don’t I do a time jump to them after their honeymoon because that would show so much of their relationship without me actually having to write it because naturally you can just sort of guess where it went during that gap, because now they’re married.  You know. Obviously it worked out for the best. And in general seeing married Wayhaught, it’s just so adorable and everyone loves a married Wayhaught. So when I got to the ending I knew I wanted to incorporate the toothpaste into that scene because I always have things come around full circle so I wanted to start with the toothpaste and I wanted to end with the toothpaste and I never thought I’d have to say that in my life.  [all laugh] That sounds really weird and odd. But I knew I wanted toothpaste to be something significant and not just thrown in there because I knew it had to be. So I definitely wanted to end it with that you know and I was just really happy with how that went, and I say that like I’m not the one who wrote the story, like I didn’t come up with that. The characters write the stories, I feel like they have all the control and I’m just sort of along for the ride.  If that makes sense at all.

DARKWICCAN: Oh yeah, that’s how it is for me when I write, I know a lot of other authors have said the same, the characters just sort of dictate through their fingers and that’s what’s going on.

ODAATLOVER: Yeah, I actually don’t do  anything, it’s all the characters, I’m not even writing this, it’s just Waverly and Nicole, and a little bit of Wynonna.  They’re really the ones who won this challenge.

DELAYNE: [laughs] We’ll send them ribbons, congratulations.

DARKWICCAN: We will, yeah.

ODAATLOVER: I’m here on their behalf.

DARKWICCAN: So the title of your story is  _ The Girl From Room 208 _ , and I got all excited for a second because my brain short circuited and I confused dorm room numbers and for a hot minute thought you were pulling a reference from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  But Buffy and Willow’s dorm room was room 214 not room 208. I do have to ask, was there a significance to the room number or was it just kind of random?

ODAATLOVER: It was definitely random.  Next question, no, just kidding.

[all laugh]

DELAYNE: Coincidentally I like 208 because it’s the area code for Idaho.  So I was like, we got a little potato reference going on. [laughs]

ODAATLOVER: I knew that because I like potatoes so naturally… No what?  Originally the room number was going to be 2B because when I was in college our dorm room numbers were a number and a letter.  The number was referencing what floor you were on and then it was letters A through H I think. So for whatever reason 2B popped into my head and I was just, “okay, yeah, this is it, this feels right.”  But here’s the thing, I am a musician and sometimes a song or something will pop into my head, like a melody, and I’ll turn it into a song and I’m like, “oh yeah, this is good,” and later on I’ll hear that melody playing on a radio somewhere and then I realise it wasn’t actually something I had come up with on my own, it was just my subconscious jamming out to a song I had heard sometime in my life.  So I don’t actually trust myself when things pop into my head so I was afraid that 2B was some sort of room number that might have been something significant somewhere and I just feel like, for some reason that just feels familiar to me, it just seemed like a common thing. So I googled it, I literally googled “The Girl from Room 2B” and a couple of children’s books came up with the title called “something something Room 2B”, and it’s not a big deal if I use that, but I like to be original.  And I didn’t want a room number that was already out there for something somewhere, so I thought, “okay, a new plan, I’m just going to close my eyes and imagine a door and whatever number is on that door I’m going to use.” So I closed my eyes and the number 208 popped up, and usually when you see room numbers that are just numbers and no letters they tend to be three digits, like a hotel or something. So I saw that three digit number and of course I kept the number two there because for whatever reason I just felt like Nicole was a two kind of gal in her dorm room number.  And I think the eight just came from the number eight looking similar to the letter B cause I was stuck on 2B still. And I was mad that someone took it from me, like they stole it from me in the future. They stole it before me, anyways, I’ll let it slide. So then my brain just threw that zero somewhere in the middle. So I came up with 208. And I did the same thing as before because I didn’t trust myself and I looked up “The Girl From Room 208” and nothing significant came up with that number so that’s what I ended up sticking with. So definitely it’s nothing significant at all.

DELAYNE: But a very detailed story about your process, I love that.

ODAATLOVER: I’m definitely a storyteller, as you can tell by me telling stories.

DELAYNE: [laughs] In your opinion what is it about Wayhaught and the  _ Wynonna Earp _ characters in general that allows them to fit so well in this college setting?

ODAATLOVER: Well, with Wayhaught specifically I feel like it’s very easy to see them in that younger age.  First of all because Waverly is already close enough to college age, right, in season one I think she’s 21 or 22 I don’t remember, but that’s pretty easy to picture them there.  

DARKWICCAN: Mhmm, twenty one.   

ODAATLOVER: But also how everything came together with Waverly just discovering herself.  I feel like it’s easy to see them in that younger age setting, you know college/high school/whatever because that’s when you usually first start questioning your sexuality, a lot of the times.  Or even just as an adult, just discovering who you are, Waverly is just so relatable because I feel like we all go through that, kind of what we all saw her go through in season one. But also on the flip side you have Nicole who is already so comfortable, so confident with her sexuality and so we’ve got that aspect for those of us who are already at that point for us to relate to as well.  So they’re just so relatable to pretty much anybody, and because of that I can see them in any sort of setting, in any sort of age, it’s just so easy to sort of see that, that relationship start to grow, wherever you want to put them at. And as far as the rest of the  _ Wynonna Earp _ characters, I really only had Nicole, Waverly and Wynonna in that story, but I could easily see all of them in a college setting because they’re just so close to each other, they’re like a family.  We always see them together, I don’t think we actually think of them at the end of the day going home to different houses, or at least I don’t. I just sort of imagine them being together 24/7. I don’t know, I just can’t imagine them, “okay, Jeremy’s  going to go home to his apartment, and Doc’s going to go wherever, I don’t even know where Doc lives, he just sort of flits around Purgatory.” Because of that aspect of them all being together and being this family I could totally see them all chilling together in the dorms and hanging out, taking some classes together, maybe they’re on an ultimate frisbee team or something.  I don’t know. I could totally see that.

[all laugh]

DARKWICCAN: Wynonna would totally cheat at that game.

DELAYNE: I need that fic now.

ODAATLOVER: For sure.  I feel like she’s the one that’s going to show up with a football.  This is going to beat your frisbee, I’m going to win.

DARKWICCAN: Nicole is going, “this is not how this works.”

ODAATLOVER: This is how episode seven of season four is going to work out.  And they’re drunk. Because naturally.

DELAYNE: [background laughing the whole time]

DARKWICCAN: Naturally, naturally.  So you said that you weren’t really inspired by toothpaste as a prompt, which… ouch.

ODAATLOVER: Right, zero percent.

DARKWICCAN:  But along with the prompt there were rules, we got rules around here, that need to be followed for the challenge for a variety of reasons.  Mainly so that we can fit our audiobook into a thirty minute segment. So what was the most difficult thing about the rules of the challenge for you to follow when you were writing?

ODAATLOVER: Oh, the word count.  You guys killed me with that. Well, not literally.   I’m a lengthy writer. I talk a lot too if you hadn’t noticed.  

DARKWICCAN: What are you talking about?

ODAATLOVER: Yeah, it’s only been two minutes.  I write a lot. One of the fics has 63 chapters and each chapter tends to be around 7,000 words long so yeah, I write a lot.  And 4,000 may seem like a lot to someone but to me that’s just [inaudible]. I could just write what Nicole’s wearing that day in 4,000 words.  And I think I mentioned this somewhere in the notes section of  _ The Girl From Room 208 _ but so here’s what happened.  I started writing on Microsoft Word because that’s where I write stuff but I go between writing on my laptop and writing on my phone depending on where I’m at.  And I copy and pasted it over into Google Docs and on Google Docs it’s different from Word right? On Word you just look down and see the word count. On Google Docs, I’m sure there’s a way to see it…

DELAYNE: Yeah, you gotta go to settings.

ODAATLOVER: But I don’t use Google Docs that often, you gotta go search for it, so I’m not gonna do that.  So I’m typing and I’m really getting into it, and I’m writing on my phone at one point and then I kind of stopped and then the next day my wife and I went to Barnes & Noble and we were just kind of working on stuff there and I open my laptop and I continue working on it on Google Docs.  And I write this whole thing, I have everything exactly how I wanted it and I got to the very last words, and I think the last words were even “the girl from room 208” or something, you know, just something like that. And I just felt this feeling like this is it, this is 100%, this is gold right here.  So I copy it back into Microsoft Word and I look at the word count and it’s like 4,300 words or something. I almost cried. Because it’s like, you spend so much time working on something and you’re like, “this is exactly how I want it.” And to think to have to change any part of it, it’s heartbreaking, that sounds so dramatic, “so heartbreaking!”  So it was tough, not even to change but to take out 300 words I was just like, “how am I going to do this?” I just had to take a minute and get over that, because at first I was like, “well what if I just post it anyways?” And then I was like, “no no no, I have to keep it under the word count.” It was only for a split second. So I went in and I was like, okay, it’s fine, I’ll just take out some adjectives I probably don’t even need, add in some contractions here and whatnot.  So I go through the whole thing and I think, “this is probably good.” And I look at the word count and it’s like, “4,100 words” I’m like, “urgh I have to do this again, I have to take out 100 more words.” So I eventually did it and I ended up having to take some stuff out, like whole sentences out just to make it work. But at that point I was just like, “whatever, I’m ready to just take out everything, I’ll just make it one word at this point.” But yeah, I ended up, I think it’s like 3,999 words.  I just barely made it. I didn’t go up to 3,999 I went from over the limit down to 3,999. So thank you you guys for that, I really appreciated that. 

DELAYNE: [laughs] It’s called a challenge for a reason, we’re glad we could challenge you.

ODAATLOVER: You didn’t even need a prompt, you just needed to add a word count.  Maybe next challenge make it 200 words and see how many people submit. And you can’t have any contractions anywhere.

DARKWICCAN: Oh man, I would never do that to an author.  But speaking of contractions unfortunately our time is a bit contracted today.  So Odaatlover I am so thrilled that you actually did go back and edit down to under the word count limit because I would have hated to have disqualified this story because as I was saying before we started recording, this was one of the first stories to post and as I read it I was like, “aha, this is a contender, this is absolutely a contender.” And I’m so thrilled that you made it all the way to the top.  So congratulations.

ODAATLOVER: Thank you.

DARKWICCAN: And thank you so much for coming on to chat with us today about your fic and I know that you’re going to be back to talk about some of your other stories in the future so look forward to that from me.  But before we let you go it is our season finale and we must ask our season winning author the most difficult question we have. And of course I’m going to make Delayne ask you.

DELAYNE: Alright, you are stranded on a desert island and have only one fanfic to read, what is it?

ODAATLOVER:  _ The Girl from Room _ …. No just kidding.

DARKWICCAN: That would be [inaudible]

ODAATLOVER: No, totally kidding.  Or am I? No. I am. At the moment, it would have to be a long fic, and at the moment the longest fic I’m reading is  _ The Last Flame _ by you know who, I’m not going to say their name. It would definitely be  _ The Last Flame _ because I want to finish reading that.  That would give me some time on that island.

DARKWICCAN: Okay, well I’ll say the name for you because you can’t so I’m more than happy to.  I have the link to  _ The Last Flame _ by igotopigfarts in our show notes for this episode.  Odaatlover thank you so much for coming on today, this has been an absolute joy.

ODAATLOVER: Thanks for having me, thanks for singing the word joy too, I really appreciate that.

DARKWICCAN:  [singing] You’re welcome.

MUSIC: DON’T DEAL WITH THE DEVIL BY CHRISTOPHER LARKIN

And that's all for this season of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Thanks for joining us.

Tremendous thanks to odaatlover for chatting with us about their winning fic!

Thanks also to our announcer Byron Tidwell for our intro and to everyone who has helped make this second season possible.

Background music for the episode was:

A Proper Story  by Darren Korb

Rainbow on Wheels BY Ryan Ike

Greenpath BY Christopher Larkin

and the outro music is Don't Deal with the Devil by Kristoffer Madigan

If you have questions or comments for the podcast you can find us on Twitter at E-F-A underscore Podcast and on Facebook at E-F-A Podcast.

And you can find all of our episodes, old and new, at our website E-F-A Podcast dot com.

And if you're listening on iTunes, please take a moment to rate and review our show.

Thanks for tuning in, and we hope you'll join us again next season for more episodes of the Earp Fiction Addiction. Until then, READ MORE FIC!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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**Author's Note:**

> New Episodes post Mondays at 8am PST
> 
> Visit our Website http://efapodcast.com/ for all episodes old and new!
> 
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> 
> And on Facebook: facebook.com/EFAPodcast
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